A mine explosion in Monongah, West Virginia, killed 362 people and led to the establishment of the United States Bureau of Mines.

The Monongah mining disaster was a coal mine explosion on December 6, 1907, at Fairmont Coal Company's Nos. 6 and 8 mines in Monongah, West Virginia, which killed 362 miners. It has been described as "the worst mining disaster in American history" and was one of the contributing events that led to the creation of the United States Bureau of Mines.

Monongah is a town in Marion County, West Virginia, United States, situated where Booths Creek flows into the West Fork River. The population was 972 at the 2020 census. Monongah was chartered in 1891. Its name is derived from the nearby Monongahela River.

The United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) was the primary United States government agency in the 20th century that conducted scientific research and disseminated information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral resources. The Bureau was abolished in 1996.