Tag: Nevada

Nevada, often referred to as the “Silver State,” is located in the western United States. Renowned for its vast deserts and striking mountain ranges, the state boasts a diverse landscape that includes the arid Mojave Desert in the south and the forested Sierra Nevada mountains in the west. The state is famously home to Las Vegas, a vibrant city known for its bustling casinos, entertainment venues, and nightlife. Beyond the glitz of Las Vegas, Nevada offers rich history in its ghost towns, a legacy of the 19th-century mining boom. The state also features significant natural attractions, such as Lake Tahoe and Great Basin National Park, offering a wide range of outdoor activities. Nevada’s economy is driven by tourism, mining, and, increasingly, technology, making it a dynamic state with a blend of natural beauty and modern attractions.

Nivloc Nevada – Esmeralda County Ghost Town

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In 1907, Gold was discovered at the town site which would be known as Nivloc Nevada by a Native American prospector. The town derived its name from for the former owners “Colvin” who operated the site in 1923. The name spelled backwards was Nivloc and such is the haste in the Nevadan desert.

Nivloc mine and camp - Tonopah Times-Bonanza - Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps - Paher
Nivloc mine and camp – Tonopah Times-Bonanza – Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps – Paher

The original mining operations were short lived. The town experienced a bit of a resurgence in the 1930s. The town never amounted to much boasting only one saloon. At its height of operation from 1940 to 1943 the town could claim a post office. Between 1937 and 1943 the small town produced between $2 and $3 million dollars of Gold and Silver. The 400,000 tons of ore was pulled from mines reaching depths 440 feet and 600 feet of below the surface. During this time, the mines of Nivloc ranked as Nevada’s number one silver producer.

Nivloc Today

We have not made a trip to Nivloc, however the townsite is very high on my ghost town “to do” list. There are several standing structures and buildings intact. The mine headframe is still standing at and a rail trestle bridge which is one hundred and twenty feet in length and forty feet tall.

Town Summary

TownNivloc, Nevada
LocationEsmeralda County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude37.71583, -117.75722
Elevation6,170 feet
GNIS851592
Post OfficeOctober 1940 to November 1943

Nivloc Map

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Weepah Nevada – Esmeralda County Ghost Town

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The site of the last major gold rush in 1927, Weepah Nevada is a ghost town and gold mine site located in Esmeralda County. Named for the Shoshone word for “rain water”, the townsite was formed in 1902 when gold was discovered in shallow pockets by Indians. A modest rush of 200 people found their way to the small outpost, however the district would soon go dormant and stay that way for the next twenty five years.

Tents and autos parked along side during during the goldrush of 1927 - Leonard Trayner Collection - Paher
Tents and autos parked along side during during the goldrush of 1927 – Leonard Trayner Collection – Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Gamps – Paher

Gold was rediscovered in March 1927 by Leonard Trayner and Frank Horton, Jr. from Tonopah. Initial assay results valued the ore at $70,000 per ton. News of this strike could not be kept quiet and spread out like wildfire across the nearby mining communities of the desert and beyond.

"Mail order miners" did not look the part of the desert prospecots like Shorty Harris. - Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Gamps - Paher
“Mail order miners” did not look the part of the desert prospecots like Shorty Harris. – Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Gamps – Paher

Twenty years prior would have seen an influx of wagons and horses bringing in the miners. Weepahs gold rush was powered by the newly available automobile. The auto powered the rush and the speed of the boom and within one week of the new of “gold” in Weepah, the town was bursting with over 1,000 people searching for their fortune in the hills. Many of these miners came via auto and were fully equipped and supplied well, often even driving new cars to the site an known as “mail order prospectors”. Soon, wooden frame houses rose above the older city which was comprised from a sea of tents. The town could be found from three roads, which were often jammed with autos as the towns population was between 1500 and 2000 people.

Regardless of production, reporters filed daily briefings and international newsreels informed the population of the ongoing modern gold rush. In April, the build boom continued with about 60 wooden framed buildings and over a dozen mining companies. Despite the promotion and news reels, interest in Weepah waned in July 1927. The last great gold rush in Nevada was over when the “mail order prospectors” broke camp and ran from the realities of the Nevadan desert.

Weepah Nevada Map

Town Summary

NameWeepah, Nevada
LocationEsmeralda County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude37.931876389209,-117.5600734418
GNIS856169
Elevation6.165 Feet
Population1,500 – 2,000
Post Office

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Colorado Steamships

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From 1852 through 1909, Colorado Steamships ferried people and supplies up and down the Colorado River to mining camps and outposts. Following the discovery of gold in California, westward expansion of the United States was on the mind of most people seeking their fortune of livelihood. Wagon trains, horses and trains all brought people deep into the new county seeking their fortune. Lesser known is the role of the steamships, which brought supplies and people up the Colorado River from Baja California to the Green River in Wyoming.

View showing steamboat Cochan on the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona in 1900 - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
View showing steamboat Cochan on the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona in 1900 – U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

In November of 1952, the steamship Uncle Sam launched steamship service on the Colorado River. The modest vessel was powered from mesquite wood to boil the water required to turn its paddle wheel located at the stern. The steamboat was capable of hauling some 40 tons of supplies up the river. Steamship service on the river proved to be a lifeline to early settlers of Arizona and California.

Mohave II at Yuma, Arizona, with Sunday school group embarked, 1876 - Unknown author - MacMullen, Jerry, Paddle-Wheel Days in California, Stanford University Press, 1944
Mohave II at Yuma, Arizona, with Sunday school group embarked, 1876 – Unknown author – MacMullen, Jerry, Paddle-Wheel Days in California, Stanford University Press, 1944

The steamers of the Colorado River range in size from just thirty five feet in length to over one hundred and forty nine feet. These purposes built ships, some of which could haul up to two hundred and thirty six tons of goods and people, could navigate the swift flowing river with just thirty inches of draft. The Colorado Steamships stern paddle wheels gained the best drive reputation for navigating with heavy flowing water of the Colorado with its ever shifting sand bars.

Colorado II in a tidal dry dock in the shipyard above Port Isabel, Sonora - MacMullen, Jerry, Paddle-Wheel Days in California, Stanford University Press, 1944
Colorado II in a tidal dry dock in the shipyard above Port Isabel, Sonora – MacMullen, Jerry, Paddle-Wheel Days in California, Stanford University Press, 1944

Steamships of the Colorado River operated six hundred miles from the gulf of Baja California up to Rioville, Nevada which is now submerged beneath Lake Mead. They ships helped open the south west and were the kings of the Colorado River Valley until competition from the local railroads took over the market. Sadly, although necessary, the damming of the Colorado River starting in 1905 locked the river up and prevents along distance travel on the Colorado River and doomed Colorado Steamships completely.

Colorado River Steamship Landings

The steamboat Mohave departing the landing in El Dorado Canyon.
The steamboat Mohave departing the landing in El Dorado Canyon.
Potholes, California, From 185918 mi (29 km)
La Laguna, Arizona Territory, 1860-186320 mi (32 km)
Castle Dome Landing, Arizona Territory, 1863-188435 mi (56 km)
Eureka, Arizona Territory, 1863-1870s45 mi (72 km)
Williamsport, Arizona Territory, 1863-1870s47 mi (76 km)
Picacho, California, 1862-191048 mi (77 km)
Nortons Landing, Arizona Territory, 1882-189452 mi (84 km)
Clip, Arizona Territory, 1882-188870 mi (110 km)
California Camp, California72 mi (116 km)
Camp Gaston, California, 1859-186780 mi (130 km)
Drift Desert, Arizona Territory102 mi (164 km)
Bradshaw’s Ferry, California, 1862-1884126 mi (203 km)
Mineral City, Arizona Territory, 1864-1866126 mi (203 km)
Ehrenberg, Arizona Territory, from 1866126.5 mi (203.6 km)
Olive City, Arizona Territory, 1862-1866127 mi (204 km)
La Paz, Arizona Territory, 1862-1870131 mi (211 km)
Parker’s Landing, Arizona Territory, 1864-1905
Camp Colorado, Arizona, 1864-1869		200 mi (320 km)
Parker, Arizona Territory, from 1908203 mi (327 km)
Empire Flat, Arizona Territory, 1866-1905210 mi (340 km)
Bill Williams River, Arizona220 mi (350 km)
Aubrey City, Arizona Territory, 1862-1888220 mi (350 km)
Chimehuevis Landing, California240 mi (390 km)
Liverpool Landing, Arizona Territory242 mi (389 km)
Grand Turn, Arizona/California257 mi (414 km)
The Needles, Mohave Mountains, Arizona263 mi (423 km)
Mellen, Arizona Territory 1890 – 1909267 mi (430 km)
Eastbridge, Arizona Territory 1883 – 1890279 mi (449 km)
Needles, California, from 1883282 mi (454 km)
Iretaba City, Arizona Territory, 1864298 mi (480 km)
Fort Mohave, Arizona Territory, 1859-1890
Beale’s Crossing 1858 –		300 mi (480 km)
Mohave City, Arizona Territory, 1864-1869305 mi (491 km)
Hardyville, Arizona Territory, 1864-1893
Low Water Head of Navigation 1864-1881		310 mi (500 km)
Camp Alexander, Arizona Territory, 1867312 mi (502 km)
Polhamus Landing, Arizona Territory
Low Water Head of Navigation 1881-1882		315 mi (507 km)
Pyramid Canyon, Arizona/Nevada316 mi (509 km)
Cottonwood Island, Nevada
Cottonwood Valley		339 mi (546 km)
Quartette, Nevada, 1900-1906342 mi (550 km)
Murphyville, Arizona Territory, 1891353 mi (568 km)
Eldorado Canyon, Nevada, 1857-1905
Colorado City, Nevada 1861-1905		365 mi (587 km)
Explorer’s Rock, Black Canyon of the Colorado, Mouth, Arizona/Nevada369 mi (594 km)
Roaring Rapids, Black Canyon of the Colorado, Arizona/Nevada375 mi (604 km)
Ringbolt Rapids, Black Canyon of the Colorado, Arizona/Nevada387 mi (623 km)
Fortification Rock, Nevada
High Water Head of Navigation, 1858-1866		400 mi (640 km)
Las Vegas Wash, Nevada402 mi (647 km)
Callville, Nevada, 1864-1869
High Water Head of Navigation 1866-78		408 mi (657 km)
Boulder Canyon, Mouth, Arizona/Nevada409 mi (658 km)
Stone’s Ferry, Nevada 1866-1876438 mi (705 km)
Virgin River, Nevada440 mi (710 km)
Bonelli’s Ferry, 1876-1935
Rioville, Nevada 1869-1906
High Water Head of Navigation from 1879 to 1887		440 mi (710 km
Soruce: Wikipedia

Colorado River Steamship Landings

Steamboats on the Colorado River

Gila Steamboat at the Yuma Crossing Arizona, 1873.
Gila Steamboat at the Yuma Crossing Arizona, 1873.
NameTypeTonsLengthBeamLaunchedDisposition
Black EagleScrew40 feet6 feetGreen River, Utah
June 1907		Exploded 1907
Charles H. SpencerStern92.5 feet25 feetWarm Creek, Arizona
February 1912		Abandoned
Spring 1912
Cliff DwellerStern70 feet20 feetHalverson’s Utah
November 1905		To Salt Lake
April 1907
CochanStern234135 feet31 feetYuma, Arizona
November 1899		Dismantled
Spring 1910
Cocopah IStern140 feet29 feetGridiron, Mexico
August 1859		Dismantled
1867
Cocopah IIStern231147.5 feet28 feetYuma, Arizona
March 1867		Dismantled
1881
Colorado IStern120 feetEstuary, Mexico
December 1855		Dismantled
August 1862
Colorado IIStern179145 feet29 feetYuma, Arizona
May 1862		Dismantled
August 1882
CometStern60 feet20 feetGreen River, Wyoming
July 1908		Abandoned
1908
EsmeraldaStern93 feet13 feetRobinson’s, Mexico
December 1857		Dismantled
1868
General JesupSide104 feet17 feetEstuary, Mexico
January, 1864		Engine Removed
1858
General RosalesSternYuma, Arizona
July 1878		Dismantled
1859
GilaStern236149 feet31 feetPort Isabel, Mexico
January 1873		Rebuilt as Cochan
1889
Major PowellScrew35 feet8 feetGreen River, Utah
August 1891		Dismantled
1894
Mohave IStern193135 feet28 feetEstuary, Mexico
May 1864		Dismantled
1875
Mohave IIStern188149.5 feet31.5 feetPort Isabel, Mexico
February 1876		Dismantled
Jan 1900
Nina TildenStern12097 feet22 feetSan Francisco, California
July 1864		Wrecked
September 1874
RettaStern36 feet6 feetYuma, Arizona
1900		Sunk
Feburary, 1905
St. VallierStern9274 feet17 feetNeedles, California
Early 1899		Sunk
March 1909
San JorgeScrew38 feet9 feetYuma, Arizona
June 1901		To Gulf
July 1901
SearchlightStern9891 feet18feetNeedles, California
December 1902		Lost
October 1916
Uncle SamSide4065 feet16 feetEstuary, Mexico
November 1852		Sunk
May 1853
UndineStern60 feet10 feetGreen River, Utah
November 1901		Wrecked
May 1902
Steamboats on the Colorado River 1852-1916 – Appendix A

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Mojave Poppy ( Eschscholzia glyptosperma )

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Eschscholzia glyptosperma, commonly known as the desert gold poppy or desert poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the Papaveraceae family. This annual herb is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, thriving in arid and semi-arid environments. This report aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the morphology, habitat, ecology, and uses of Eschscholzia glyptosperma.

Mojave Poppy ( Eschscholzia glyptosperma )
Mojave Poppy ( Eschscholzia glyptosperma )

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

  • Kingdom: Plantae
  • Clade: Angiosperms
  • Clade: Eudicots
  • Order: Ranunculales
  • Family: Papaveraceae
  • Genus: Eschscholzia
  • Species: E. glyptosperma

Morphology

Eschscholzia glyptosperma is characterized by the following features:

  • Roots: The plant has a taproot system that allows it to access deep water sources, which is crucial for survival in arid environments.
  • Stems: Stems are typically slender, erect, and can range from a few centimeters to about 30 centimeters in height.
  • Leaves: The leaves are finely divided and bluish-green, arranged in a basal rosette. They are pinnately divided into narrow, linear segments.
  • Flowers: The flowers are bright yellow to orange with four petals, each petal often having a distinct darker spot at the base. Flowers are about 2 to 5 centimeters in diameter and are borne on long peduncles.
  • Fruits: The fruit is a slender capsule, known as a silique, which contains numerous small, reticulated seeds.

Habitat and Distribution

Eschscholzia glyptosperma is adapted to desert and semi-desert habitats, typically found in sandy or gravelly soils. Its distribution includes:

  • Geographic Range: It is native to the southwestern United States, including Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah, as well as northern Mexico.
  • Elevation: The plant can be found at elevations ranging from sea level up to 2,000 meters.
  • Climate: It thrives in regions with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, which is typical of desert climates.

Ecology

Eschscholzia glyptosperma plays a significant role in its ecosystem:

  • Pollination: The flowers attract a variety of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and other insects, which are crucial for its reproduction.
  • Adaptations: The plant has several adaptations to survive in harsh desert conditions, such as a deep taproot system for accessing water and seeds that can remain dormant during unfavorable conditions.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

Eschscholzia glyptosperma is an annual plant, completing its life cycle within a single growing season. Key stages include:

  • Germination: Seeds germinate in the winter or early spring following rains.
  • Growth: The plant grows rapidly, forming a basal rosette of leaves and then producing flower stems.
  • Flowering: Flowering occurs from spring to early summer, depending on rainfall and temperature.
  • Seed Production: After pollination, the plant produces fruits that release seeds, which can remain viable in the soil seed bank until conditions are favorable for germination.

Conservation and Uses

  • Conservation Status: Eschscholzia glyptosperma is not currently listed as threatened or endangered. However, habitat destruction and climate change could impact its populations.
  • Uses: While not widely used in traditional medicine or agriculture, the plant is valued for its aesthetic appeal in wildflower gardens and for its role in supporting pollinators.

Eschscholzia glyptosperma is a resilient and ecologically important species adapted to the challenging conditions of desert environments. Its striking flowers and role in supporting pollinators make it a valuable component of its native habitats. Conservation efforts should focus on preserving its natural habitats to ensure its continued survival.

References

  1. Baldwin, B.G., Goldman, D.H., Keil, D.J., Patterson, R., Rosatti, T.J., & Wilken, D.H. (Eds.). (2012). The Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California, Second Edition. University of California Press.
  2. Hickman, J.C. (Ed.). (1993). The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press.
  3. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. (2024). PLANTS Database: Eschscholzia glyptosperma. Retrieved from plants.usda.gov.

Callville Nevada – Colorado River Steamship Landing

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Callville Nevada is a ghost town and Colorado River Steamboat port, which is now submerged below the waters of Lake Mead. Bishop Anson Call founded and established a colony and warehouse on the Colorado River at the direction of the Mormon Leader Brigham Young. The settlement was located about 15 miles up river from the location of the future site of Hoover Damn.

Call's Landing or Callville looking toward the west as it appeared in 1926 - Photo courtesy of R. F. Perkins
Call’s Landing or Callville looking toward the west as it appeared in 1926 – Photo courtesy of R. F. Perkins
Bishop Anson Call, Mormon Colonizer, May 13, 1810 – August 31, 1890
Bishop Anson Call, Mormon Colonizer, May 13, 1810 – August 31, 1890

Callville was established on December 2, 1864 when Anson Call arrived on a small bluff over looking the Colorado River in the Arizona Territory. The settlement was located at the conjunction of the later named Callville wash and the Colorado River.

The founding of the settlement was the churches effort to expand trade routes and European immigration into Utah from the south. The small portgage and landing site was one of several along the Colorado including St. Thomas, Saint Joseph, Overton, West Point, Mill Point ( Simonsville ) and Rioville.

During the Civil War, the army of the United States garrisoned at the site, to protect the Colorado River Steamboats and serve as a landing point for army. In December 1865, the outpost had the honor to become the county seat for Pah-Ute County, Arizona Territory. The station was short lived and transferred to St Thomas just two years later.

In 1869, the army garrison was removed. Following the war, Congress redrew some of the state boundaries and the settlement in the Arizona Territory is moved to Nevada. From 1866 to 1878, the landing at Callville was the High Water of Navigation for steamboat traffic on the Colorado River, which is 408 miles from Fort Yuma. The town was abandoned in June 1869 when the Steamships discontinued service to the site.

Today, the town lies in under 400 feet of water. However, the water levels in Lake Mead are at an all time low, and St. Thomas is currently above water.

“Take a suitable company, locate a road to the Colorado, explore the river, find a suitable place for a warehouse, build it, and form a settlement at or near the landing.” 

Brigham Young instructing Anson Call, 1864

Town Summary

LocationCallville
LocationLake Mead, Clark County, Nevada
Latitude, Longitude36.1133128, -114.6888720
GNIS863773
Other Common NamesCall’s Fort, Old Callville

Callville Map

Resources