Nelson - Eldorado Mountains, Nevada GPS: N35° 43' 36" W114° 50' 36" (WGS 84) December 16, 2000 Home: Page 1 View maps, road map for this trip. In 1775, Nelson was originally called Eldorado by the Spaniards who made the original discoveries of gold in this area that is now Eldorado Canyon. Later prospectors and miners established the notorious Techatticup Mine. Disagreements over ownership, management and labor disputes resulted in wanton killings so frequent as to be routine and ordinary. Despite the sinister reputation of the mine, it along with others in the town produced several million dollars in gold, silver, copper and lead. The mines continued to be active from about 1858 until 1945. This was one of the first major gold strike areas in Nevada. Visitors should be cautioned that there are many open mines and ventilation shafts. Also some of the land owners in the area are not very kind to strangers. The area is accessible through the town of Nelson, Nevada off US 95 about 30 miles southwest of Las Vegas. From Las Vegas travel Southeast on I-515 for 20 miles to US 93. Turn South on US 93/95 for 13 miles to SR 165. Turn Southeast on SR 165 (Nelson Road) for 11.22 miles to Nelson, Nevada. We started our exploration Southwest of the town of Nelson not far from a large complex of radio towers. A well graded dirt road was our starting point. During our exploration we came across several 4x4 trails in the area that were a lot of fun to ride on. The trails ran for many miles but had a lot of ruts. In the area we found many of the trails leading to abandoned mines. Some of the mines continue to have standing derricks used to dump ore into trucks. We kept very clear of the pits and mine openings and stayed on the known trails for safety. We came across a heavily mined area with several abandoned mines and buildings not far from Nelson. A view of the entrance to an old mine shaft. Home: Page 1 Contact the author at speleo@intermind.net Photographs and information in this website may be copied or distributed for personal use only. For other uses, express permission by the author must be given. Use of appropriate photo credits requested.