Death Valley Mine

Despite its name, the Death Valley Mine lies in the New York Mountains of the Mojave National Preserve, roughly 70 miles from Death Valley National Park. J.L. Bright discovered lead-silver-gold ore here in 1906, and the mining camp Dawson soon followed. Production peaked in the late 1910s before a 1927 fire destroyed the mill; later owners briefly reactivated the workings, but the site has been quiet for decades. Wooden bunkhouses, ore conveyors, rusted headframes, and timber-lined shafts remain scattered among the Joshua trees.