Man Made Rock Formation Gas Hills Area?

[3rdIQ]

Wyoming Stonehenge?? Here is a LINK to a video shot in 2016. In the comments the guys said it was a new camera and appologized for the shaky video. Be sure and read comments as it appears that this could be from the 50's before mining began in the area.

And here is PART 2 of this location on video.

[Wyoprairie]

Videos: Getting a kick out of those guys with their druid/monastery chant music stuff. Couldn't reach either one I know in Waltman today.

If you zoom out on the aerial shots, you can see that the main rock symbol and the arrow are both situated on reclaimed mine land. That was the Umetco Minerals Gas Hills East uranium mine, open in 1960 and shut in 1987. Reclamation started 2002 and was mostly complete 2006. The 1st uranium claim was filed in 1953 and the mill was built in 1957.

Those rocks came from underground. They were dug up. I bet this was put up by workers on the reclamation project. They had very large earthmoving and hauling equipment for the reclamation project and could move rocks into place.

Comment I saw below the video: "This is obviously an ACoE reclamation site of what was probably an old mine. The bulldozer tracks give it away as well as the excavator scratches and drill holes in the rocks." (He's on the same track I am)

The air strip belongs to Umetco Minerals. That would be GHI-Gas Hills International.

[nm9stheham]

Stonehenge..... quite the imagination there LOL I was particularly fascinated by the prehistoric generator enclosure and the prehistoric pneumatic bore holes in the rocks for the prehistoric dynamite. And yet more evidence of the prehistoric nature of the site... the ancient Bullet-Hole People had a 'go' at the Corps of Engineers placard.

[nm9stheham]

There is some starting on page 16 of the report below on these mines.



https://www.wsgs.wyo.gov/products/wsgs-2019-pic-47.pdf

[3rdIQ]

Originally Posted by Wyoprairie

Videos: Getting a kick out of those guys with their druid/monastery chant music stuff. Couldn't reach either one I know in Waltman today.

If you zoom out on the aerial shots, you can see that the main rock symbol and the arrow are both situated on reclaimed mine land. That was the Umetco Minerals Gas Hills East uranium mine, open in 1960 and shut in 1987. Reclamation started 2002 and was mostly complete 2006. The 1st uranium claim was filed in 1953 and the mill was built in 1957.

Those rocks came from underground. They were dug up. I bet this was put up by workers on the reclamation project. They had very large earthmoving and hauling equipment for the reclamation project and could move rocks into place.

Comment I saw below the video: "This is obviously an ACoE reclamation site of what was probably an old mine. The bulldozer tracks give it away as well as the excavator scratches and drill holes in the rocks." (He's on the same track I am)

The air strip belongs to Umetco Minerals. That would be GHI-Gas Hills International.

Correct on Unetco, I found this map on an NRC (or maybe AEC back then) document while searching on Sunday.



Also from one of my vintage highway maps, Raderville and Ervay. Jacob Ervay was the Postmaster, and he founded the JE Ranch. This area was also along the Casper - Lander stage line.

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

Stonehenge..... quite the imagination there LOL I was particularly fascinated by the prehistoric generator enclosure and the prehistoric pneumatic bore holes in the rocks for the prehistoric dynamite. And yet more evidence of the prehistoric nature of the site... the ancient Bullet-Hole People had a 'go' at the Corps of Engineers placard.

Yeah, they do. In the comments the YouTube filmers thought the building was a sheepherder's shack, which is possible I guess. It looks too flimsy to be dynamite storage, but the rocks would give some protection. Bottom line, there has been a lot going on in this area..... the only thing not tied to the rock formation is the Forrest Fenn treasure.

[Wyoprairie]

A good book to read about WY geology is Rising From The Plains, by John McPhee. It's mostly a biography of David Love, who could be described as the State Geologist. (He passed away in 2002) Very well know guy in WY. He discovered the uranium deposits. (Rising from the plains is one translation for the Indian word that is phonetically Mee-Shee-Y-Oh-Ming from which we get Wyoming) David Love was born and raised on his family's ranch on Muskrat Creek, which is not far west from this doohickey in the Gas Hills. Much of the entertaining parts of the book detail his family's pioneering life out there on the ranch.