Delve into the boom-and-bust stories of prospectors and pioneers who sought fortunes in Death Valley's rugged terrain, leaving behind a scattering of ghost towns.
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Fortunes Forged in Brutal Heat
Death Valley holds the record for the highest reliably recorded air temperature on Earth — one hundred thirty-four degrees Fahrenheit, measured at Furnace Creek in July…
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1
Twenty Mule Teams Started Right Here
Each wagon hauled by the famous Twenty Mule Teams weighed about thirty-six thousand pounds fully loaded — roughly the weight of three African elephants.
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2
Rhyolite Rose and Fell in Six Years
In 1905, prospector Shorty Harris struck gold in the Bullfrog Hills just outside Death Valley, and within months a full-blown city materialized from the desert floor.
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3
Panamint City's Silver and Outlaw Legacy
Panamint City was so overrun with outlaws that when its silver mines finally started producing, the owners had to ship bullion out in cannonball-proof iron containers —…
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4
Chasing Strikes Across a Merciless Landscape
A prospector named Shorty Harris reportedly discovered gold near what became Harrisburg in 1905, then sold his claim for almost nothing and moved on — a pattern he…
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5
Ballarat Leadfield and Chloride City Bones
Leadfield holds the distinction of being one of Death Valley's greatest cons. In 1926, promoter C.C.
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