BUSINESS
Mountains with layers of shale stone stretch from Colorado into Utah, and cross northern Mesa County. The shale has vast petroleum deposits imbedded, and in the late 1970s and early 1980s, billion dollar facilities were being built in adjacent Garfield County for shale oil extraction. Grand Junction boomed as a regional oil headquarters. A sudden drop in oil prices halted this, starting May 2, l982. Boom turned to bust, and the economy of this city and the whole area suffered.
(Adam Reeves Photo)