INDEX OF MINING PROPERTIES IN YUMA COUNTY, ARIZONA by Stanton B. Keith · Geologist - State of Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology Geological Survey Branch The University of Arizona Tucson INDEX OF MINING PROPERTIES IN YUMA COUNTY, ARIZONA by Stanton B. Keith Geologist State of Arizona Bureau of Geologyand Mineral Technology Geological Survey Branch Bulletin 192 Price Three Dollars 1978 Universityof Arizona, Tucson TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION I HISTORY 2 GEOLOGY 6 MINERAL DEPOSITS IO EXPLANATION OF TABLES AND MAPS 16 NOTES ON MINING DISTRICTS 17 Alamo District 17 Alamo Springs District 19 Castle Dome District 21 Cienega District 26 Cunningham District 29 Dome (Gila City) District 33 Eagle Tail District 34 Ellsworth District 36 Fortuna District 39 Gila Bend Mountains District 41 Harquahala District 42 Kofa District 45 La Cholla District 47 Laguna (Las Flores) District 49 La Paz (Weaver) District 51 La Posa (Wellton) District 54 Middle Camp-Oro Fino District 56 Midway District 57 Mohawk District 59 Muggins District oduced 60 · . Material contained in this Bulletin may be quoted or repr Neversweat (Palomas Mts.) District 61 New Water District 62 without special permission provided appropriate is given to the source. Plomosa District 63 acknowledgment Santa Maria District 67 Sheep Tanks District 72 Silver and Eureka Districts 73 Tank Mountains District 76 Trigo Mountains (Cibola) District 78 Yuma District 79 REFERENCES 182 ii iii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Production Summary 82 2. Index of Mining Property Names 85 3. Index of Mining Property Owners or Operators 94 4. Index of Mining Properties 114 I. Alamo district 114 II. Alamo Springs district 115 III. Castle Dome district 116 IV. Cienega district 122 V. Cunningham district 143 INTRODUCTION VI. Dome (Gila City) district 145 VII. Eagle Tail district 145 VIII. Ellsworth district 146 "Index of Mining Properties in Yuma County, Arizona" is the fourth of IX. Fortuna district 150 the series covering the counties of the State. The first three of the series, X. Gila Bend Mountains district 150 covering Cochise, Pima, and Santa Cruz, were published as Arizona Bureau XI. Harquahala district 151 XII. Kofa district 154 of Mines Bulletins 187 (1973), 189 (1974), and 191 (1975). XII[. La Cholla district 156 Yuma County was one of the earliest important mineral-producing areas in XIV. Laguna (Las Flores) district 157 Arizona. Numerous large and small mining and placer operations were ac­ XV. La Paz (Weaver) district 158 XVI. La Posa (Wellton) district 160 tive, and almost all the more important mineral deposits of precious and base XVII. Middle Camp-Oro Fino district 161 metals in the county were firstfound and prospected during the second half of XVIII. Midway district 162 the I 9th century. The records of most of those early mining activities are XIX. Mohawk district 163 XX. Muggins district 163 scanty and scattered in old documents and records, publications by individu­ XXI. Neversweat (Palomas) district 164 als or Federal and State agencies, articles in technical journals, public and XXII. New Water district 165 private reports, and newspaper clippings. Even since I 900, the mining XXIII. Plomosa district 165 XXIV. Santa Maria district 172 records are farfr om complete and are not readily available to persons needing XXV. Sheep Tanks district 174 or seeking such information. Thus this index is designed to provide, in a XXVI. Silver and Eureka districts 175 concise form, a summary of the available information on most of the mining XXVII. Tank Mountains district 179 XXVIII. Trigo Mountains (Cibola) district 179 properties in the county and the more important sources of information that XXIX. Yuma district 181 may be foundconcerning those properties. It would be impossible to name and describe every mining property or LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS prospect that may have been located or worked in Yuma County. This is Figure Page l. Graphs of production and value 84 particularly true in this case, where detail records of location and features are 2. Explanation of Geologic Symbols 124 oftenscarce. Although some 225 mining properties, or groups of properties, Index Map of Mining Districts in Yuma County 125 have been described herein, there may be an equal number that have been 3. Alamo district 126 4. Alamo Springs and Kofa districts 127 located and worked to a limited extent for which little or no information is 5. Castle Dome district 128 available. The selection for this index has been made on the basis of estimated 6. Cienega district 129 and/or recorded production of notable amounts of ore or mineral, special 7. Cunningham Pass and Ellsworth districts 130 8. Dome, Laguna, and Muggins districts 131 geologic or mineralogic character, or the importance of the deposit to overall 9. Harquahala district 132 mineral resources that might become available and economic in the future. 10. La Paz, Middle Camp-Oro Fino, The index also provides a basis for land-use planning by indicating areas of and La Cholla districts 133 11. La Posa district 134 mineral potential. Comments, suggestions, and corrections regarding this 12. Midway and Santa Maria districts 135 index will be useful and are welcome. 13. Mohawk district 136 The author is indebted to the personnel of the Bureau for the help in the 14. New Water and Plomosa (South) districts 137 15. Plomosa (North) district 138 preparation of the format and maps, especially Joe R. LaVoie and Richard 16. Sheep Tanks district 139 R. DuPont. 17. Silver, Eureka, and Trigo districts 140 iv HISTORY Orcl_erof St. Francis, traveled the Gila and Colorado Rivers and established a rl s�ttlement near the present city of Yuma. In 1781 the settlement was de­ Yuma County, in southwestern Arizona, w as one of the original four stroyed by an Indian revolt during which Garces was killed. The Spanish counties created by the Territorial Legislature in 1864, and is the only county made no further attempts to settle in the region although some Spanish or of Arizona that has retained its original boundaries. It was n amed after the Me_2Ci_c� prospectors may have been present. The first Americans known to Yuma Indians, the major tribe in the area . The origin of the name "Yuma" have entered the area were beaver trappers, such as Sylvester Pattie and his has never been clear. It may have come from the Old Spanish word "umo," son James who operated on the Gila River in 1825-1826. In 1832, Pauline meaning smoke, since the Indians built large smoky fires in the hope of Weaver was reported to be trapping in the area. With the start of the Mexican inducing rain for their crops. War in 1846, several U.S. military groups crossed Yuma County and pro­ Yuma County encompasses some 9,991 square miles in land area of which vided some geographic information on the region. The Treaty of about 85 percent is owned and/or controlled by agencies of the Federal gov­ Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848 gave the United States all of the County north of ernment. Most of the northern and east-central sections are under the jurisdic­ the Gila River and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853 gave the balance of the tion of the Bureau of Land Management. The Colorado Indian Reservation present County to the United States. Through the Boundary Commission covers about t hree percent of the land along the Colorado River in the north­ surveys of 1849 and 1854-1855 and the railroad surveys of 1854 and 1856, eastern part, and most of the southern and west-central areas are covered by with their accompanying scientists, generalized knowledge of the geography military withdrawals, including the Cabeza-Prieta Game Range. The Kofa and geology along the border and the major rivers became known. The Game Range covers a large area in the center of the County and restricted California gold rush in 1849 brought hundreds of people through southern areas along the Colorado River are held forreclam ation and wildlife refuges. Yuma County, passing down the Gila River or over the Camino del Diablo State-owned land accounts for only four percent of the county area and the fromMexico. Many of them perished in Indian raids or from lack of water. A remaining eight percent is privately owned. At the present time only about ferry across the Colorado River was established at Yuma in 1850 and a . one-half of Yuma County is readily open to mineral exploration and mineral military post was stationed there in 1851. The first steamboat reached Yuma claim location. in late 1852 and the semi-weekly Butterfield stage line through southern Yuma County has a population of some 72,600 (1976 estimate), of which Yuma County was started in 1857. Surprisingly, through all this period of over 75 percent live in the general Yuma area and the balance are located Spanish, Mexican, and early American travels through the County, there is mainly in small farmingsettlements along the Colorado and Gila Rivers. The no record of any mineral exploration or prospecting. Reportedly, the fur population density would be slightly over seven persons per square mile but trappe�s on the Gila River did note the gold placer deposits at the north end of due to the arid and inhospitable character of most of the County, large sec­ the Gila Mountains as early as the 1840s but the discovery was not publicized tions have no permanent residents. until 1858. The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 had little impact on the Mining, especially in the second half of the 19th century, played a very activities in Yuma County. In 1862, Pauline Weaver discovered the gold important role in the history of Yuma County.