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Amargosa Basin

The Amargosa Basin, north of the Mojave Preserve and east of Death Valley in California

12 posts

Gerstley Mine

Gerstley Mine

Prospector Johnny Sheridan lived in a cave with skunks and chuckwallas while he roamed the southern end of the Resting Spring Range in 1922. He discovered borate deposits that year that would launch the Gerstley Mine, which in a short amount of time created a town and required its own

Columbia #2 Mine

Columbia #2 Mine

These are various photos from our trips over the years to the Columbia #2 mine in the Mojave Desert. It is part of the War Eagle complex of mines and is well-traveled. Much of the remaining mining equipment has been stolen since my photos were taken. A May 25th, 2012,

Day Break Camp

Day Break Camp

I met up with Dan in 2006, and we headed out into the great Mojave Desert to try and find an old, little-known camp called Day Break.

Noonday Mine

Noonday Mine

We have visited this mine many times over the years. It is one of the earlier mines in the War Eagle Mine group. It was successful enough that the owners built a tramway down the hillside and developed their own railroad to connect to the mainline Tidewater and Tonopah railroad.

War Eagle Mine (Shoshone)

War Eagle Mine (Shoshone)

We’ve visited this mine many times since first exploring it in 2001. It is well-known and well-traveled but so extensive that it is still fun to explore. The mine has miles of drifts and stopes across at least nine levels. It has a few hard-to-reach passageways, and there are