The mystic mid-region, the deserts of the Southwest . mined,—even under the present disadvantages,—prepared, and marketed at a profit at aboutten cents a pound, with a prospect of stilllower fiofures in the near future. CHAPTER XI OTHER MINERALS FOUND IN THE DESERT GOLD and borax, which have been givenchapters in this work, are by no meansall the minerals found in the California des-erts. The deserts have tempted the pros-pector ever since California became known asa mineral field. For a time gold was theprime object of his search, but later it becameknown that other minerals were capable ofyi
The mystic mid-region, the deserts of the Southwest . mined,—even under the present disadvantages,—prepared, and marketed at a profit at aboutten cents a pound, with a prospect of stilllower fiofures in the near future. CHAPTER XI OTHER MINERALS FOUND IN THE DESERT GOLD and borax, which have been givenchapters in this work, are by no meansall the minerals found in the California des-erts. The deserts have tempted the pros-pector ever since California became known asa mineral field. For a time gold was theprime object of his search, but later it becameknown that other minerals were capable ofyielding profits quite as great as the yellowmetal, and he has become more critical in hisobservations. His care has been liberallyrewarded. Borax was one of the first of the mineralproducts to attract his attention. The discov-ery of large deposits of this in Death Valleywas followed by the discovery of immensebeds of niter, of sulphate of soda, nitrate ofsoda, and other mineral drugs in the samevicinity. The gold belt of the Mojave Desert has154. Other Minerals Found in the Desert 157 been traced from the town of Mojave to DeathValley, a distance of one huiuhed and fifteenmiles. The belt varies in width from two toten miles. Death Valley is known to containrich deposits of gold in other portions of thedesert. All along these gold belts, silver isalso more; or less abuntlant. The silver mines of the Calico district havebecome famous for their yield of silver mines are about six miles north of theSanta Fe railroad and near the station ofDaggett. The belt extends in an easterly andwesterly direction, ami has been traced anddeveloped for a distance of ten miles. Therocks of this region are violet or brown rhyo-lite, often porph^ritic ; green, yellow, andwdiitetufa ; greenish hornblende andesite ; yellowand screen breccia. Copper, lead, tin, zinc, iron, manganese,baryta, gypsum, sulphur, onyx, marble, asbestos,and orem stones are also found in the deserts. The mine
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectdeserts, bookyear1904
