San Bernardino County:
Baker Area
The north central portion of San Bernardino County has been mined longer than any other portion of the county. Turquoise located north of Halloran Springs was first mined by Indians, and after its rediscovery around the turn of the century was mined again. The rumored discovery of gold at Salt Springs in the 1820s and an authenticated discovery in 1849 establishes this as the oldest gold mine in the county. Gold discovered at numerous locations resulted in rushes into the area and camps springing up; the most important discoveries were in the Halloran Springs-Old Dad Mountain area. Silver was first discovered in the Avawatz Mountains in 1870 and has been mined intermittently since. However, the silver mines near Riggs seem to have been more productive. Talc, iron and manganese are intermittent products from the area.Stone Hammer
The Baker area is not only the site of the oldest mine worked by Anglos in the California Desert, it may be the site of ...Salt Spring
The earliest recorded gold discovery in San Bernardino County occurred at Salt Springs, at a point on the ...Avawatz
Avawatz, also spelled Ava Watts, Ivawatz, Iva Watch, and Ivanatz is probably derived from the Mohave word Avi-Ahwat meaning ...
Old Dad Mountains - Baker Area
Area Ecology *
Silurian Valley - Devil's Playground
... includes the alluvial plain of the Silurian Valley, from where the Amargosa River enters it on the north to where the Mojave River enters it on the south, and the Devil's Playground ...Baker, Ca.
The community founded in 1908 and was named after R.C. Baker, Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad president. Baker was developed later to ... The Baker area brings together several layers of eastern Mojave history in one landscape. Native turquoise working north of Halloran Springs shows that mineral use here long predated Anglo prospecting. Salt Springs connects the region to the earliest recorded gold discovery in San Bernardino County, while the Avawatz Mountains, Riggs, and the Halloran Springs-Old Dad Mountain area show the later pattern of scattered gold and silver discoveries, short-lived camps, and intermittent production.The story also reaches beyond precious metals. Talc, iron, and manganese remind us that desert mining was often practical, industrial, and sporadic. Baker's later railroad and highway role ties the whole region to transportation, water, and access - the real conditions that determined whether any desert mine could
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