Malakoff Diggings, in Nevada County, was the
Malakoff Diggings, in Nevada County, was the largest hydraulic mining operation in California. At the time of this 1875 photo by Carleton Watkins, the mine was in full operation with 7 giant water cannons working around the clock eroding mountains, to wash gold out of the gravel. The water and gravel effluvia from the operation caused floods in the Sacramental Valley and silted up San Francisco Bay. In an 1883-84 environmental protection lawsuit, Judge Lorenzo Sawyer declared hydraulic mining illegal
Picture No
13125913
Media ID
45376749
Size
3000px x 2125px
(2.0MB)
Credit
Mary Evans / The Everett Collection
Source
Courtesy Everett Collection
