United States of Anaconda

Anaconda’s faltering copper kingdom during the Great Depression.

This fascinating map of the United States highlights the nationwide operations of Anaconda Copper, one of the largest mining companies in the world for much of the 20th century. What began as a small silver mine in 1880 quickly grew into numerous facilities from coast to coast, integrating mining, smelting, refining, processing, and even wire creation! An inset in the lower right shows the Anaconda Empire across the globe, which included plants in Chile and Poland.

The map was illustrated by Richard Edes Harrison and originally published in a 1936 issue of Fortune Magazine. Huge declines in demand during the Great Depression tanked Anaconda’s stock values, plummeting from a high of $175 to a low of around $3 in the 1930s.