strip mines
Open-pit coal operations
Strip mines are surface mining operations where soil and rock overlying a mineral deposit are removed in long, narrow strips to expose the resource beneath—typically coal.
The method is efficient but environmentally destructive, leaving landscapes scarred until reclamation.
To strip-mine is to extract resources this way: They strip-mined the hillside for coal.
- open pitSurface-level excavation site
- overburdenLoad beyond capacity
- bulldozerBladed vehicle pushing earth
- excavationAct of unearthing
- extractionAct of removing
heavy machinery · coal · loader · soil erosion · environmental damage · anthracite · dump truck · habitat destruction · drilling · reclamation · water contamination · lignite · biodiversity loss · iron ore · coal seams · bauxite · bentonite · copper
- Coal Countryanthracite, coal dust, black lung, company towns, Scranton
- mininggold, coal, oil, shafts, silver
- Coal Miningcoal seam, colliery, underground, coal face, pickaxe
- AppalachiaAppalachian culture, Blue Ridge, Appalachian Trail, Cumberland, Great Smoky Mountains
- Schuylkill ValleyReading, Blue Mountain, coal region, anthracite, Hamburg
- pollutionair pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, smog, toxic waste
strip minesnature preserves
Protected ecological areas
conservation areas · wildlife sanctuaries · reclaimed land · protected wilderness · national parks
strip minesvirgin forest
Forest never harvested
pristine wilderness · untouched land · old-growth forest · undeveloped land · natural landscape
strip, mine, stripped, stripping, stripper, strippers, strips, mined, mining