Eastern Mojave Vegetation California Highway 136  
 

Tom Schweich  

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Other articles:
• U. S. Highway 395:   at CA Hwy 136;  

Junction: U. S. Highway 395

This road junction is just south of Lone Pine. There is an inter-agency information center here with books, maps, and general information. California Highway 136 provides a short cut from Lone Pine to the Death Valley highway, California Highway 190.

Other articles:
• Field Notes:  16-Jul-05;

Locations: Sierra Nevada.
Full Size ImageMt. Whitney and the Sierra Nevada as seen from CA Hwy 136  

View of the Sierra Nevada. Mount Whitney is the set-back peak directly above the vanishing point of CA Highway 136.

Other articles:
• Field Notes:  16-Jul-05;
Full Size ImageFormer Southern Pacific Crossing of CA Highway 136  

This is the crossing of the former Jawbone Branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad.

 

   

Owens River

 

Other articles:
• Dolomite Road:   at CA Hwy 136;  

Junction: Dolomite Road

 

   

Owens Lake

 

Literature Cited:
- Blair, Terence C., and John G. McPherson, .

Other articles:
• Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge:   at Dolomite;

Locations: Dolomite.  

Populated place, mine, and former Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge station of "Dolomite" about a half mile northeast of the highway.

Other articles:
• Dolomite Road:   at CA Hwy 136;  

Junction: Dolomite Road

Other articles:
• Field Notes:  16-Jul-05 at Swansea;
Full Size ImageTwo towers of the former salt tram visible from Swansea.  

Two towers of the former salt tram from Saline Valley were barely visible from CA Highway 136 near Swansea.

Literature Cited:
- Reynolds, Robert E., and David R. Jessey, 2009.

Other articles:
• Field Notes:  16-Jul-05 at Swansea;
• Maps:   4 Apr 2009;
Full Size ImageLandmark for Owens Lake Silver-Lead Furnace.  

Full Size Image
Field Trip Day 3
Owens Lake Silver-Lead Furnace

The Owens Lake Silver-Lead furnace and mill was built here by Col. Sherman Stevens in 1869 and used until March 1874. James Brady assumed its operation in 1870 for the Silver-Lead Company and built the town of Swansea. During the next five years the output of this furnace and another at Cerro Gordo was around 150 bars of silver every 24 hours, each weighing 83 pounds.

California Registered Historical Landmark No. 752

Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Eastern California Museum Association. November 5, 1961.

Field Trip Stop 3-7 of the 2009 Desert Symposium (Reynolds and Jessey, 2009).

From 1870 to 1897, silver ore from the Cerro Gordo mines was shipped downhill to the Swansea smelter on the east side of Owens Lake. Timber was “roasted” with minimum oxygen at the Cottonwood charcoal kilns to produce charcoal, which was shipped on the Molly Stevens paddle-wheeled steam ship to Swansea for smelting lead–silver ore from the Cerro Gordo nines. The Molly Stevens picked up ingots, dropped them at Cartago, and then went north to the Cottonwood kilns to get more charcoal. When the Molly Stevens burned, the Bessy Brady steam paddle-wheeler continued running silver ingots from Keeler and Swansea to Cartago. The smelter produced silver ingots faster than Remi Nedeau’s nine mule teams could carry them on the route to Mojave. By 1873, over 30,000 ingots were stockpiled. Enterprising miners stacked the ingots, stretched canvas over them, and lived in shelters made of silver bars.

Other articles:
• Field Notes:  16-Jul-05 at Swansea;
Full Size ImageFormer Southern Pacific section house in Swansea.  

Near Swansea, there are the remains of a section house, still painted in Southern Pacific orange.

Other articles:
• Field Notes:  16-Jul-05 at Swansea;
Full Size ImageFormer Southern Pacific stock car in Swansea.  

And a narrow gauge stock car.

 

 

Locations: Swansea.  

Swansea

 

 

 

Literature Cited:
- Reynolds, Robert E., and David R. Jessey, 2009.

Other articles:
• Maps:   4 Apr 2009;
Full Size ImageField Trip Day 3  

Owens Lake Desiccation Monument

Field Trip Stop 3-8 of the 2009 Desert Symposium (Reynolds and Jessey, 2009).

Owens Lake to the south has been the southern terminus for the Owens River for the last 800,000 years. Owens Lake surface water has been claimed and diverted for human use. Ground water is now tapped for the water supply. Arid-land surfaces that were previously stabilized by vegetation are increasingly susceptible to wind erosion, causing deflation and dust storms. Since desiccation, wind-blown dust and salt have created visibility problems for residents of Owens Valley and military research at China Lake in Indian Wells Valley.

Other articles:
• Field Notes:  16-Jul-05 at Keeler;
Full Size ImageFormer depot in Keeler.  

 

Other articles:
• Field Notes:  16-Jul-05 at Keeler;
Full Size ImageFormer depot in Keeler.  

 

 

 

Locations: Keeler.  

Keeler

 

Other articles:
• Field Notes:  16-Jul-05 at Keeler;
Full Size ImageSierra talc plant in Keeler.  

Sierra Talc plant in Keeler.

Literature Cited:
- Reynolds, Robert E., and David R. Jessey, 2009.

Other articles:
• Cerro Gordo Road:   at CA Hwy 136;
• Maps:   4 Apr 2009;
Full Size ImageField Trip Day 3  

Junction: Cerro Gordo Road

Field Trip Stop 3-9 of the 2009 Desert Symposium (Reynolds and Jessey, 2009).

Cerro Gordo Mines are to the east of the Point of Historical Interest. The ore tram from the Cerro Gordo mines and townsite at el. 8,600 ft ran downslope to deposit ore at Keeler (el. 3,600 ft). This mining district is near the summit of the Inyo Range, 8 miles by mountain road from Keeler. Discovered early in the 1860s, production started in 1869, and reached between $6.5 to $20 million of silver and lead. Mssissippian and Pennsylvanian limestones cut by intrusive diorite and monzonite dikes serve as host rocks for the ore bodies. Initial sulfide ores were argentiferous galena and sphalerite. Tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite, and pyrite were prominent accessories in the primary sulfide vein. Oxidized lead ore in limestone consisted of lenses of cerussite to 6 feet diameter around a core of galena. Zinc carbonate ore (smithsonite) was encountered in 1911. Tenorite and the lead oxides bindheimite, caledonite, linarite, and leadhillite are also present. The Ignacio and Ventura mines in the district are southwest of the main mining camp at Cerro Gordo.

Other articles:
• CA Hwy 190:   south of Lone Pine;  

Junction: California Highway 190, east through Panamint and Death Valleys, west to US Highway 395 at Olancha.
If you have a question or a comment you may write to me at: tomas@schweich.com I sometimes post interesting questions in my FAQ, but I never disclose your full name or address.  


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Date and time this article was prepared: 9/22/2024 4:36:49 PM