Location and History
Skidoo is in Death Valley National Monument in east-central Inyo County. The district is in the Panamint Mountains and includes the Tucki Mountain area to the north. The town of Skidoo was an important mining center from 1905 until around 1917, with water reaching the area through 23 miles of pipe from Telescope Peak to the south. Mining was done in the district again during the 1930s, and there has been intermittent prospecting since. The total production of the district has been estimated at between $3 million and $6 million.
Geology and Ore Deposits
The area is underlain by quartz monzonite and other granitic rocks. Schist, dolomitic limestone, and gneiss of Precambrian age are just to the east. The ore deposits consist of a number of north- and northwest-striking quartz veins that contain free gold and small amounts of pyrite. The veins are chiefly in the quartz monzonite and most are only a few feet thick. A number of high-grade pockets have been found here.
Mines
Del Norte, Emigrant Springs, McBride, Napoleon, Skidoo $1.5 million+, Sunset, Treasure Hill, Tucki.
Related photos (not from original book) - Skidoo Mill Site, Jan 2009.
Jennings, C. W., 1958, Death Valley sheet: California Div. Mines geologic map of California, Olaf P. Jenkins edition.
Norman, L.A., Jr., and Stewart, R. M., 1951. Inyo County, Skidoo mine: California Jour. Mines and Geology, vol. 47, p. 51.
Waring, C.A., 1919, Inyo County. Skidoo mine: California Min. Bur. Rept. 15, pp. 83-84.
