Colorado City is now a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

, in

Clark County, Nevada Clark County is located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which hold 1,771,945 people as of the 2010 Census, acros ...

, located under

Lake Mohave Lake Mohave is a reservoir on the Colorado River between the Hoover Dam and Davis Dam in Cottonwood Valley defining the border between Nevada and Arizona in the United States. This 67 mile stretch of the Colorado River flows past Boulder City, ...

at the mouth of El Dorado Canyon.

History

Colorado City was a

mining camp Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

in the Colorado Mining District (New Mexico Territory) and a steamboat landing at the mouth of the El Dorado Canyon on the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

, for shipments via

steamboats of the Colorado River Steamboats on the Colorado River operated from the river mouth at the Colorado River Delta on the Gulf of California in Mexico, up to the Virgin River on the Lower Colorado River Valley in the Southwestern United States from 1852 until 1909, wh ...

. Richard E. Lingenfelter, Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852-1916, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1978
Founded in 1861, Colorado City, was at first located in New Mexico Territory, until 1863, when it became part of

Mohave County Mohave County is in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 213,267. The county seat is Kingman, and the largest city is Lake Havasu City. It is the fifth largest county in the United St ...

of Arizona Territory. In 1867 it became part of Lincoln County in the state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. In 1866, Colorado City became the site of two stamp mills, located there for ease of supplying wood to operate its steam driven mechanism. One was the old Colorado Mill brought down the canyon from El Dorado City, and refurbished. The other was the new New Era Mill.Daily Alta California, Volume 18, Number 5922, 28 May 1866, p.1 col. 5-6; OUR ARIZONA CORRESPONDENCE, Up The Colorado, (from the Correspondent of the Alta California), El Dorado Canyon, April 30th, 1866, Alling rank S. Alling/ref>

Site today

The site of Colorado City, and the Colorado River it was adjacent to, was submerged under

following the construction of the

Davis Dam Davis Dam is a dam on the Colorado River about downstream from Hoover Dam. It stretches across the border between Arizona and Nevada. Originally called Bullhead Dam, Davis Dam was renamed after Arthur Powell Davis, who was the director of the ...

in 1951. What remains of Colorado City lies offshore from the site of Nelson's Landing.

References

External links

The mine operations at Eldorado Canyon served by steamer and barge. March 21, 1890
from cdm16003.contentdm.oclc.org, The Otis Marston Colorado River Collection, accessed May 24, 2015. This is the ''Gila'' with a load of coal for the mills, per Lingenfelter,Steamboats, p. 69. *Photos from El Dorado Canyon, 1907 from digital.library.unlv.edu, Nevada State Historical Society Photo Collection, accessed 5/12-13/2014. Views of Colorado City site in 1907. Steamboat service had ceased in 1905. *
View of Southwestern Mining Company's Quartz Mill along river
*
View of Colorado River from Eldorado Canyon. Down river and towards the mill, from just below the house. (probably the mail carrier's boat in foreground)
*
Eldorado Canyon from Colorado River. From a boat in mid-stream, looking west. [above] Southwestern Mining Co. Quartz Mill, Mouth of El Dorado Canyon, Boarding House, Store, Millmen's cabins, Weather Observation Station [below]
*
From the Arizona Shore, looking southwest. S.W.M. Co. Mill at outlet of El Dorado Canyon, Store building, end view, Millmen's camps and cabins on "the Mesa", abandoned adobe, home.
{{authority control Populated places established in 1861 Ghost towns in Clark County, Nevada Ghost towns in Nevada New Mexico Territory Arizona Territory Inland port cities and towns in Nevada 1861 establishments in New Mexico Territory