Culberson Sulfur Mine Site, Texas

This remote mining site was once a major source of sulfur, but has been abandoned since the early 2000s. Sulfur, also known as its more biblical name, brimstone, is used to make sulfuric acid, used in great quantity in chemical industries, oil refining, and to make fertilizer, and gunpowder. It used to be mined, often hydraulically, from surface and underground deposits, and Texas was the primary producer of mined sulfur. Sulfur is now extracted from natural gas and as part of the petrochemical refining process. This is one of three major abandoned sulfur plants and mine sites in West Texas.