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Mineral County
Named for the many mineral deposits in the area, Mineral County was created out of northern Esmeralda County. Mining has always been a part of Mineral's history and today, mining still staples itself as the county's largest economy along with a strong military influence near Hawthorne. Mineral has some of the largest concentrations of minerals and fossils in the United States. Today it's a favored destination for the avid rockhound, finding everything from gold, silver and tungsten to more 'exotics' like agates, apache tears, chalcedony and quartz to fossils, trilobites and petrified wood! You'd be hard pressed to find another place with more variety of natural treasures.
One word of advice though: Mineral County is truly a lonely land. Without beautiful Walker Lake breaking the handful of barren mountains, Mineral would be a truly desolate landscape. Even the White Mountains (in California) in the county's southern half provide a nice backdrop against the stark hills. Nonetheless, it does have some surprising and stark desert scenery. It's biggest community and 'major city', is the seat of Hawthorne with a little over 3,000 people. It's even complete with a grocery store, small hospital and a fast food chain north of town. That's saying a lot in Nevada. However, once leaving Hawthorne, don't expect a whole lot in terms of services. All but one of Mineral's landmarks can be found right along US 95 and although finding them is quite easy, the challenge comes in the long driving in between. The landmarks within Mineral County are greatly spread out, so expect a lot of road trip if you decide to visit them. I would recommend using Hawthorne as your base. From here, you can conquer all of them in a day if you wish.
Historical Markers of Mineral County
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