The image above illustrates the incredible scale of the mining regions of the western United States. Yellow dots are gold mines, black dots are non-gold mines. Map icons show the distribution of historic mining towns. An interactive version of this map is available here.
Featured Mining Town: Ajo, Arizona
The mines at Ajo were worked at small scale by Spaniards and Mexicans as early as 1750, but it would be over 150 years before the low-grade copper deposits here could be mined economically. When mining finally did start at large scale in 1917, Ajo became one of the nation's top producers of copper. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Cherokee, California
Cherokee, California was one of the state's richest gold districts. The placer deposits here also happened to contain occasional diamonds of extraordinary quality. Imagine the miners surprise when they found not only gold in their pans, but diamonds as well! Continue Reading
Ute and Ulay Mine – Lake City, Colorado
The Ute and Ulay mine is located a few mile west of Lake City, Colorado. The mine, part of the Galena (aka Henson Creek) district, was a producer of gold, silver, lead and zinc. Located in 1871, this was the first major mineral discovery in the Lake City area. Continue Reading
The Bachelor Syracuse Mine Tour
The Bachelor Mine was one of Ouray, Colorado's leading mines for nearly a century. Today, the Syracuse Tunnel, part of the Bachelor operation, hosts underground tours, offering a unique and immersive experience for visitors. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Oatman, Arizona
Oatman, Arizona, was established as a mining camp sometime in the late 1800s. However, it wasn't until after 1900 that new gold discoveries in the area kicked off one of the West's last gold rushes. Oatman was a significant producer of gold from 1915 until the mid-1930s. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Rico, Colorado
The development of Rico, Colorado was hampered in the 1870s and 1880s due to its remote location and poor transportation infrastructure. By the 1890s a railroad solved the transportation problem and Rico became a thriving mining town. Today the railroad and the mines are no longer operating, and Rico once again finds itself an isolated and sleepy small town. Continue Reading
Copper and Community: Life at Kennecott
During the 1990s, three separate reunions were held at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge that brought together the school-age children and adult laborers that lived at Kennecott during the 1920s and 1930s. The interviews that were conducted at these events provide a rare and fascinating look into life at one of the West's most remote mining camps. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Nevada City, California
Nevada City, California was one of the earliest and most important mining camps established during the Gold Rush. The town would grow to be an important center of mining and society among the numerous gold camps of the Sierra foothills. Continue Reading
Featured Mining Town: Seven Troughs, Nevada
Seven Troughs, Nevada was the site of a significant gold excitement starting in 1907. Four towns were established in the district, but after a decade of production the declining mines could no longer support them, and most had been abandoned. Continue Reading
The Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour
The Old Hundred gold mine traces its history back to the late 1800s and was worked intermittently until the early 1970s. The mine has been closed for decades, however it is now open for tours which offer a unique view into what a working mine was like. Continue Reading
