Mineral deposits in this landscape sustained life in the Verde Valley in the past and today. Minerals in the land supported a prehistoric hilltop village, and the copper beneath the earth provided the basis for founding nearby modern towns. Starting in the 1880s, prospectors mined the valley's abundant copper, creating Clarkdale and Jerome on the mountain slope. Along with bringing wealth to the area, copper mining left lasting marks on the land. The landscape contains approximately five million tons of mining waste, or tailings, spanning over 116 acres. Shifting winds sometimes swirled the tailings into spectacular and damaging dust storms. To prevent wind and water erosion and return the land to a more natural appearance, the tailings were capped and revegetated in 2006.