This Massive Crack in the Earth Goes for Miles — and I Followed It

Comments · 2.8K

• TH

  @TheOuterRange · 1 year ago · pinned

  Appreciate the comments. Let me know if you would like to see   extended version in the future.

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• CL

  @claytaylor4028 · 1 year ago

  These cracks are Gilsonite mines.  Only place in the world where this mineral is mined.  I used to work there. These mines go back over 120 years.  Oil was squeezed up into the geologic cracks and then over time, the oil's volatiles evaporated off.  Gilsonite is essentially 'petrified' oil.  These cracks go down 1000-2000 feet.  There was a refinery built down in Grand Junction CO where the Gilsonite was refined into 'Gilsoline', an alternative gas. The gilsonite was slurried up and pumped all the way the Grand Junction in a pipeline.  There remains a massive Enterprise diesel engine, as big as a house, that powered the pump, still remaining in Bonanza.  The Basque still run large sheep herds in the surrounding countryside.  In earlier days, the mine had a Company town to house some of the employees and their families.  I ran into several old timers in Vernal that claim to have been born in that town.  The Gilsonite deposits are a finite resource and will soon be depleted forever.

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• RO

  @robertsrealm9118 · 1 year ago

  I am blown away by the amount of wood that I am seeing. All of the lumber that was used for this mining had to be brought in from somewhere. There’s no trees in sight. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of Gilsonite.

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• TO

  @Tooncow2 · 1 year ago

  I wonder how many animals running too quickly to see this or walking at night and have lost their life to this thing.

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• NU

  @NuckinFutsNekoBaba31 · 1 year ago

  I’ve been there years ago, on and off since becoming an adult I’ve really enjoyed being a nomad back then I traveled by motorcycle and lived off it wherever I roamed. I sat and leaned against that dragon sign and smoked a cigarette and had a beer, always look down when walking there and even then feel before committing full weight, definitely a cool spot though…loved the deserts. Now I’m 46 and am a truck driver long haul been living in the truck the last 5 years…about to quit and go back to roaming freely again, sick of social anxiety even doing this.

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• CH

  @CharlesBlackwellFoamFlyinFool · 1 year ago

  As a drone pilot I don't why how this drone pilot didn't fly down inside

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• SI

  @Sinderbad · 1 year ago

  The graves haven’t necessarily been dug up or looted. &nbsp;As the box deteriorates and the body decomposes, the earth on top will subside to fill in the cavity and leave a ground depression on top.<br><br>While walking through a very old cemetery at night as a little kid, one of my legs went down into the ground over a grave that was in the process of collapsing. &nbsp;I still get goosebumps whenever I think about it.😧 I was around five or six at the time and thought the dead person was going to climb out of that hole and get me. &nbsp;😁

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• JO

  @johngaither9263 · 1 year ago

  Gilsonite or Uintaite is a natural occurring hydrocarbon primarily from Utah. Other than a few scattered outcropping the mineral was mined by excavating narrow, deep and miles long trenches that followed the veins of the material. &nbsp;It was used for insulation, as carbon black in paint and ink and foundries used it in molds. &nbsp;It is rare in the solid state.

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• TH

  @thebikerphotographer3774 · 9 months ago

  Ive worked in the desert of Bonanza Utah for 25 years now. Was cool to see a YouTube vid on those mines. My family worked in those mines. My great uncle ended up passing from a lung disease.

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• WA

  @walterhartman3275 · 11 months ago

  I was born in those mines. &nbsp;I raised 14 kids there and ran a small drink straw company there for 40 years. &nbsp;No one even knew I was there but I&apos;m telling people now.

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• TR

  @trippy66. · 1 year ago

  This is the first video of yours I’ve come across and I have to say I love your style. No annoying music or dialogue. And the over exposure to show the depth was brilliant. The content is fascinating as well. There are so many weird things happening right now it’s a bit overwhelming. Cheers!

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• ST

  @steven.h0629 · 1 year ago

  <b>I&apos;m always amazed at how little we know about our own history</b>

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