To see the aftermath of open-pit mining, drive just south of Bisbee on Hwy 80 to the not-so-truthful 'Scenic View' sign. It's pointing toward the Lavender Pit, an immense stair-stepped gash in the ground that produced about 600,000 tons of copper between 1950 and 1974. It's ugly, but it's impressive.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum

0.89 MILES

This two-story museum is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, and it shows. Located in the 1897 former headquarters of the Copper Queen…

3. Bird Cage Theater

21.34 MILES

In the 1880s the Bird Cage was a one-stop sin-o-rama. Besides holding onstage shows, it was a saloon, dance hall, gambling parlor and a home for …

4. Rose Tree Museum

21.4 MILES

Every spring the world's largest rosebush – planted in 1885 – puts on an intoxicating show in the courtyard of this museum, a beautifully restored…

5. Tombstone Epitaph Museum

21.42 MILES

Pick up your free copy of the Tombstone Epitaph, reporting on the infamous shoot-out, at the historic newspaper office, now a museum showing how the paper…

7. OK Corral

21.48 MILES

Site of the famous gunfight on October 26, 1881, the OK Corral is the heart of both historic and touristic Tombstone. It has models of the gunfighters and…

8. Boothill Graveyard

21.98 MILES

For a list of the graves – and causes of death – of those buried here, buy the brochure at the entrance. The graves of Billy Clanton and Tom and Frank…