Bankhead

One thousand people called Bankhead their home in the early 1900's. They dug around 58 kilometers of tunnels under Cascade mountain chasing after anthracite, used to power the railroad. By 1922 it was clear that through it produced coal, it didn't produce a profit for the owners and it was shut down and the town dismantled. One hundred years later the legacy of this mine lies in its slack heaps: piles of unmarketable coal which was piled up south of the mining area. Only the hardiest shrubs, trees, and rhubarb grow in these massive piles of waste coal.

Photography fails to convey what happened here. And it's part of Banff now.

bankhead20.jpg bankhead21.jpg bankhead22.jpg changingtimes.jpg Looking out the basement of the Holy Trinity Church, OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1 The basement and foundation of the Holy Trinity Church, OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1 The front steps and viewpoint of the Holy Trinity Church, OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1 Old power lines running through Bankhead, OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1 100 year old piles of waste coal, OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1 Some hearty rhubarb trying to grow in the coal, OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1 The vastness of the coal is overwhelming, OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1 It's amazing that things can start growing in the waste coal, OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1 When you are in the middle of the slack heaps, it's hard to imagine you're in Banff, OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1 Hope, OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1 OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1 It's actually a little exhausting climbing to the top of the heap, OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1 Some trees manage to survive, OM-2n, HP5+, L76 1:1

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