Mountaintop Removal Mine in Winter<br /> Snow accentuates the contours of a freshly made valley fill in southwestern W.V. at Cantenary Coal near Cabin Creek. Mountaintop removal/valley fill is a mining practice where the tops of mountains are removed to expose the seams of coal. <br /> A much as 500 feet or more of a mountain summit may be leveled. The earth and rock from the mountaintop is then dumped in the neighboring valleys. Over 1,000 miles of streambeds are buried equaling the entire length of the Ohio River.
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