EXPLORE FURTHER

In l850 there was little gold left in the streams. Miners began to discover gold in old riverbeds and on mountainsides high above the streams. They could not decide how to move the dirt to a place where there was water. By l853 miners invented a new method of mining called hydraulic mining.

Dams were built high in the mountains.The water traveled from the reservoirs through a wooden canal called a flume that was up to forty-five miles long. The water ran swiftly to the canvas hoses and nozzles called monitors waiting in the old river beds. The miners would aim the monitors at the hillsides to wash the gravel into huge sluices. Over time the monitors became bigger and more powerful. Their force was so great they could toss a fifty pound rock like a canonball or even kill a person.

By 1866 an area of land near the town of North Bloomfield was purchased for hydraulic mining. This area became known as Malakoff Diggins. After ten years the Diggins covered thousands of acres and went as deep as four hundred feet. The big monitors or giants could wash fifty thousand tons of dirt and gravel in a day and used sixteen million gallons of water in a year. Between l866 and 1884 hydraulic mining yielded over three million dollars in gold.

After many years the hydraulic mines washed tons of dirt and silt into the creeks, rivers, and streams. The farmers in the valleys complained about the tailings that flooded their land and ruined their crops. Thousands of acres of rich farmland and property were destroyed as a result of hydraulic mining.

On January 7, l884 Judge Lorenzo Sawyer declared hydraulic mining illegal. It is believed that hydraulic mining was a selfish act because it caused so much damage to the environment.

Today
Today you can visit Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park and see the colors of the earth that were exposed by hydraulic mining. Even now, very few plants grow on the hillsides. You can also visit the historic town of North Bloomfield and see the restored original buildings. The stores and buildings are full of furniture goods and artifacts. The dirt streets are the same as they were 150 years ago. Malakoff Diggins State Park is a fun and interesting historical place to visit.

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