I've lived here for over 30 years and never heard of this place. (Why not?) It's Eldorado Canyon and the gold mines of the wild, wild west! Eldorado Canyon has the oldest, richest, and most famous gold mine in Southern Nevada. Just 45 mins south of Las Vegas and close to the small town of Nelson and the Colorado River.
Eldorado Canyon has a wider range of historical events than anywhere in the Wild West:
- The canyon was full of deserters during the Civil War.
- Two of the most famous renegade Indians were raised in the canyon. (Ahvote and Queho).
- 1874 claim jumping resulted in numerous murders and hauntings of the Techatticup Mine.
- In 1880's more men lived in the Eldorado Canyon than all of Las Vegas valley.
- Steamboats ran the Colorado River for over 40 years.
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| One old mining cart |
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Entrance to mine
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| Miner and donkeys they used to move the blasted rock. |
We went below ground into the mine at level 4 (of 9 levels) where the temperature is a cool 70 degrees. (Yes!) The Techatticup Mine is the oldest mine in Southern Nevada. The ore was brought out of the mine to a stampmill where it was crushed to a fine powder and mixed in cyanide tanks where the gold and silver were separated.
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| Underground in the mine |
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| In the tunnel underground |
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| Vein the miners chased for gold and silver. |
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| Another vein miners chased. |
It was really interesting to see the tunnel with the various levels and ladders, and how dangerous it must have been for these miners. I would not even want to be a miner. Too much physical labor, danger, and darkness for me. The tour guide turned out all the lights for us to get the effect of pitch dark. Something these miners experienced when the candles accidentally went out! Wow!
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| Movies filmed at this location. |
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| Fake plane crash |
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Picnic before the mine tour.
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One other thing I didn't know, but several movies were filmed at this location....."3000 miles to Graceland", "Johnny and the High Rollers", "Breakdown", and "Eye of the Beholder." The plane you see crashed on the side of the mountain is the one actually used in the movie, "3000 Miles to Graceland." So just some movie trivia.....
We had a nice, little picnic close to the Colorado River before the tour with the gals I went on this trip with. Had a fun day and learned some interesting history about our Southern Nevada. Hope you enjoyed my day trip narrative.
