Word: montana
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Montana, somewhere south of Bozeman and north of Yellow-stone, where a bit of the Wild West still remains. Outside runs the Gallitan river where the movie A River Runs Through It was filmed half a mile upstream. About five miles down the pike is the local's bar, a place where you can still order buffalo burgers. Every vehicle parked outside it is a 4x4 full of mud and rust, because in Montana people use their 4x4s for more than commuting to and from the office...
Traveling to Montana is a little bit like rebelling. There is no daytime speed limit. I have yet to see a traffic light. The only government agency in the county is the post office. Out here people look after themselves, mean what they say and live free...
...raucous heyday 80 years ago, this Montana mining town was known as the richest hill on earth. Its rocky soil yielded millions of tons of copper ore, used to make the wires that spread power and light and phones across the nation. Then, 16 years ago, the giant strip mine was closed, and the pumps that kept it dry were turned off for good...
...been perversely proud of its strange monument. Townsfolk, in fact, celebrate the acid lake, which, deceptively green and picturesque, sparkles on postcards. The Chamber of Commerce runs a trolley to the viewing stand and gift shop that it operates high over the waters. "Biggest tourist draw in southwest Montana," a chamber official crows. But even as visitors stream in, authorities must take elaborate steps to scare away waterfowl with loudspeakers, firecrackers and a boat. Such precautions weren't in place three years ago, when migrating Canadian snow geese had the misfortune to touch down on the waters for a drink...
...ARCO and Montana Resources, the pit's custodians, like the idea of mining the fetid lake but say it is not yet economically feasible. A local environmental firm, MSE Technology Applications, is testing everything from microbes and chemicals to membrane strainers to remove the ores but says a workable process could be years off. That's too long to wait, warns Fritz Daily, a former Montana legislator who is concerned about an earthquake fault less than a mile from the pit. "If the water ever discharges, it could destroy the entire valley," he says. A growing number of others, Montana...