Massive radio receivers have been built in remote mountain valleys since the beginning of the space race in the mid-twentieth century. These radio astronomy observatories leverage certain geological conditions (mountain valleys, underground mica deposits, higher elevations) to establish the optimal conditions for receiving signals with less energy than a snowflake falling to the Earth from deep space. Remote Appalachian Mountains, the high desert in New Mexico, and the peaks of the Hawaiian Islands all serve as hosts for these observatories. This project explores the remarkable coalescence of remoteness, geological constraints, and a human fixation on the unknown that drives the establishment of radio astronomy.