What: Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine.
Where: In the Oquirrh Mountains on the southwest side of the Salt Lake Valley.
Travel time: Thirty minutes (about 25 miles) from downtown Salt Lake City.
Directions: Take the 7200 South exit off I-15. Turn west on 7200 South and proceed to the New Bingham Highway (SR 48); turn left and proceed to SR 111, where you turn left again. Follow it to the entrance of the Bingham Canyon Mine.
Hours of operation: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily from Feb. 6-26
Admission fee: $4 per car; donated to local charities
Information: 252-3234
Significance: Think big. At 2 1/2 miles across and 1/2 mile deep, this is the largest manmade excavation on Earth — the Grand Canyon of open-pit mines. The mine isn't the only thing that's big. The equipment used to work it dwarfs the humans who operate it. The dump trucks carry 360 tons of material; the shovels that load them pick up 100 tons of rock in one bite. Let's call them megabites.
This is living proof that men can move mountains. Where the open-pit is now, there used to be a mountain.
Things to do: Stop at the visitors center. At an elevation of 6,700 feet, it offers a dramatic overlook that takes in all the action.