Welcome to A People's Atlas of Nuclear Colorado
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Navigating the Atlas
You may browse the Atlas by following the curated "paths" of information and interpretation provided by the editors. These paths roughly track the movement of radioactive materials from the earth, into weapons or energy sources, and then into unmanageable waste—along with the environmental, social, technical, and ethical ramifications of these processes. In addition to the stages of the production process, you may view in sequence the positivist, technocratic version of this story, or the often hidden or repressed shadow side to the industrial processing of nuclear materials.
Using the buttons on the left, you may also browse the Atlas's artworks and scholarly essays, access geolocated material on a map, and learn more about contributors to the project.
If you would like to contribute materials to the Atlas, please reach out to the editors: Sarah Kanouse (s.kanouse at northeastern.edu) and Shiloh Krupar (srk34 at georgetown.edu).
Cover Image by Shanna Merola, "An Invisible Yet Highly Energetic Form of Light," from Nuclear Winter.
Atlas design by Byse.
Funded by grants from Georgetown University and Northeastern University. Initial release September 2021.
Using the buttons on the left, you may also browse the Atlas's artworks and scholarly essays, access geolocated material on a map, and learn more about contributors to the project.
If you would like to contribute materials to the Atlas, please reach out to the editors: Sarah Kanouse (s.kanouse at northeastern.edu) and Shiloh Krupar (srk34 at georgetown.edu).
Cover Image by Shanna Merola, "An Invisible Yet Highly Energetic Form of Light," from Nuclear Winter.
Atlas design by Byse.
Funded by grants from Georgetown University and Northeastern University. Initial release September 2021.
Sarah Kanouse, Contamination warning signs in the Uravan Valley, 2014, Flickr
Site
Uravan Mines
The town of Uravan supplied the uranium that produced the bombs that ended World War II and fueled the Cold War nuclear arsenal. The company town of Uravan was established in 1936 at the original site of the Joe Jr. Mill. At its peak, over 800 people lived in the town. An epidemic of cancer among the miners was first documented in 1956.
The name "Uravan mineral belt" is applied to a narrow, elongated area in southwestern Colorado in which carnotite deposits in the Morrison formation have a closer spacing, larger size, and higher grade than those in adjoining areas. The belt extends from Gateway through Uravan to Slick Rock.
Weller, Robert. "Nuclear Fuel Town Not Even a Dot on Map: Colorado: Soon, bulldozers will scrape Uravan off the face of the Earth. Why? Those Radioactive Tailings." Los Angeles Times, October 23, 1994. Accessed July 31, 2020.
Hessler, Peter. "The Uranium Widows." The New Yorker, September 6, 2010. Accessed July 30, 2020.
The name "Uravan mineral belt" is applied to a narrow, elongated area in southwestern Colorado in which carnotite deposits in the Morrison formation have a closer spacing, larger size, and higher grade than those in adjoining areas. The belt extends from Gateway through Uravan to Slick Rock.
Sources
Fischer, R. P. and L. S. Hilpert. "Geology of the Uravan Mineral Belt." Geological Survey Bulletin 988-A. U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1952. Accessed March 26, 2018.Weller, Robert. "Nuclear Fuel Town Not Even a Dot on Map: Colorado: Soon, bulldozers will scrape Uravan off the face of the Earth. Why? Those Radioactive Tailings." Los Angeles Times, October 23, 1994. Accessed July 31, 2020.
Hessler, Peter. "The Uranium Widows." The New Yorker, September 6, 2010. Accessed July 30, 2020.
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