Chapter XI: Other Minerals Found in the Desert

Gold and borax, which have been given chapters in this work, are by no means all the minerals found in the California deserts. The deserts have tempted the prospector ever since California became known as a mineral field. For a time gold was the prime object of his search, but later it became known that other minerals were capable of yielding profits quite as great as the yellow metal, and he has become more critical in his observations. His care has been liberally rewarded.

Borax was one of the first of the mineral products to attract his attention. The discovery of large deposits of this in Death Valley was followed by the discovery of immense beds of niter, of sulphate of soda, nitrate of soda, and other mineral drugs in the same vicinity.

The gold belt of the Mojave Desert has been traced from the town of Mojave to Death Valley, a distance of one hundred and fifteen miles. The belt varies in width from two to ten miles. Death Valley is known to contain rich deposits of gold in other portions of the desert. All along these gold belts, silver is also more or less abundant.

The silver mines of the Calico district have become famous for their yield of silver bullion. These mines are about six miles north of the Santa Fé railroad and near the station of Daggett. The belt extends in an easterly and westerly direction, and has been traced and developed for a distance of ten miles. The rocks of this region are violet or brown rhyolite, often porphyritic; green, yellow, and white tufa; greenish hornblende andesite; yellow and green breccia.

Copper, lead, tin, zinc, iron, manganese, baryta, gypsum, sulphur, onyx, marble, asbestos, and gem stones are also found in the deserts.

The minerals are scattered over the many thousands of square miles of territory. The difficulties of transportation, coupled with the lack of water, have greatly retarded the development of the known mineral fields, as well as prevented the finding of other rich deposits which doubtless exist.

The character of the mineral rocks is multitudinous. In the Waterloo Mines in the Mojave Desert, ore is found in a belt of jasper which yields more than one thousand ounces of silver to the ton.

Twenty-eight miles east of Daggett are large bodies of iron ore--the largest known on the Pacific Coast. These deposits have been practically undisturbed because of the distance from railroad and the lack of water and fuel to mine and smelt the ores. When a railroad is laid to the locality this field will prove a wonderful source of wealth to those who secure possession of it.

Five miles south of Oro Grande are rich veins of copper which are found very near the surface. These deposits were discovered by the Mormons who settled on the Mojave River several years ago.

Variegated marble quarries have been opened twelve miles northeast from Victor, in which are found marbles of wonderful beauty and fineness. Shades of crimson and gray, cream, rose, white, pale blue, black, chocolate, and yellow are mined from these quarries, the ledges of which outcrop and stand above the surrounding lands. Some of these marbles approach in beauty that of the finest onyx.

The Colorado Desert contains numerous valuable gold mines, as well as silver, copper, tin, and other important minerals. Cement and asbestos are found in abundance in certain sections. Rich deposits of the latter mineral are found in the vicinity of Indio and at Palm Springs. Lithia rock and fine clay are mined in certain sections and in 1902 the richest known tourmaline deposits in America were found at Mesa Grande. There is an interesting story connected with the finding of these gems.

Mesa Grande is an elevated plateau or tableland. On the lower adjacent lands water is found, and ranchers--mostly Mexicans--have established themselves. Ever since the valley became settled the tableland has been a favorite playground for the children. A portion of the mesa is scantily covered with loam, where grow cacti and other specimens of dry-weather plants. A large portion of the mesa, however, is barren and the rock lies exposed, gray, mottled, or white beneath the glaring sun which shines ever from a cloudless sky. Here and there the granite and gneiss show a belt of snowy white quartz which gleams in the sunlight, forming a pleasing contrast to the darker rocks in which it is set.

One day, while playing among these rocks, one of the children found a delicately tinted transparent pebble. When held up to the sun it emitted brilliant reflections and sparkled and scintillated like living flame. A cry of delight brought the other children to the spot, and then began a search for more of the pretty stones, with the result of the gathering of a dozen or more of the sparkling stones that afternoon. After this, frequent trips were made to the mesa in search of the pretty pebbles, and scarcely a house in the vicinity but contained collections of the beautiful playthings.

One day a professional gem-cutter chanced to visit the valley under the mesa and in a basket of playthings he saw some of the bright pebbles. He examined the stones and learned where they had been found. Then he prospected the locality and found the gem-bearing ledges and staked claims covering the richer portions of the field. Since then some rare and valuable stones have been taken from the mines, gems equal to those of Ceylon, Brazil, or Siberia, which countries have heretofore supplied the world with these gems. The gem-bearing ledges extend over two or three hundred acres.

Salt is another valuable mineral found in both the Mojave and Colorado deserts. The famous salt-fields of Salton are in the latter desert, but they have a story all their own, which will be told in another chapter.