March 2011

Cranberry Iron Mine

This is the opening into the upper level of the Cranberry Mine, shot from the ridge above. Quite a climb over old tailing piles to get up there. The spoils from the mine have been there so long that now it's hard to tell what's piles of rock tailings and what's original hillside. Trees have now grown, dropped leaves for over 80 years and died on what was a barren, rock strewn slope when the mine was operating. Nature is reclaiming the area despite being logged over several times since the mine closed in 1929. These upper openings look very similar to the lower ones where the main entrance to the mine is located. Notice the colors on the rock face.