Idria | |
|---|---|
New Idria grounds, 2004 | |
Location within the state of California | |
| Coordinates: 36°25′1″N120°40′28″W / 36.41694°N 120.67444°WCoordinates: 36°25′1″N120°40′28″W / 36.41694°N 120.67444°W[1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | San Benito County |
| Elevation | 2,648 ft (807 m) |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) |
| Area code | 831 |
| FIPS code | 06-36182 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1660786 |
| Official name | New Idria Mine[2] |
| Reference no. | 324 |
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New Idria was an unincorporated town in San Benito County, California. It was named after the New Idria Mercury Mine, which closed in 1972, resulting in a ghost town.
Geography[edit]
The area is inside Area code 831. It is included in the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District and the Panoche Elementary School District.[3]San Benito Mountain, elevation 5,241 feet (1,597 m), is located 3.6 miles (5.8 km) southeast. The nearest city is King City along U.S. Route 101.
The New Idria Mercury Mine was named in honor of the world's then second largest quicksilver mine in what was then Idria, Austria, now Idrija, Slovenia; (Slovene pronunciation [ĭdrija], California English pronunciation [īdria].)[4] The town grew to support the mining operations, but the mine closed in the 1970s. The town is currently an abandoned ghost town with more than 100 standing buildings, though vandalism has contributed to their deterioration in recent years. According to the US Geological Survey, both Idria (primary) and New Idria (variant) are recognized for federal use in describing the community.[1]
History[edit]
The community was established to support the mine, which mainly extracted mercury, since cinnabar was abundant in the local rock formations. Mercury mining at the location began in 1854. At one time, the New Idria mines were America's second most productive mines, with the New Almaden mines in the vicinity of San Jose, about 82 miles (132 km) northwest, being the first.[5]
The discovery of mercury ore at New Idria came soon after the discovery of gold in the Sierra foothills, which began the California gold rush. At that time, mercury was important in extracting gold from gold ore. Before the New Idria and New Almaden Quicksilver Mines, the mercury came almost exclusively from Europe.[5]
The New Idria Mining Company was formed soon after the discovery of cinnabar (quicksilver ore) in the southern Diablo Range of central California in 1854. The town of New Idria began around 1857 and about 300 men were employed at the mine by 1861. The first school opened in 1867 and the New Idria Post Office opened in 1869, with Edward A. Morse as the first postmaster.[6] In 1894, the New Idria Post Office dropped the word 'New' and the town become known as Idria.[7] The New Idria Quicksilver Mining Company closed in 1972 and the town has since become a ghost town.[5]
New Idria is a California Historical Landmark (#324)[2][5] and home of the world’s first Gould Rotary Furnace, which revolutionized ore processing technology worldwide.[8]
On July 30, 2010, a fire destroyed 13 buildings on the north side of town.[9]
- Superfund Site
In 2011, New Idria was re-listed as a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund site, owing to unchecked mercury run-off and contamination.[10] As of June, 2012, the entire section of the former town site on the south side of New Idria/Clear Creek road is fenced-off.
Environmental concerns in the area[edit]
The New Idria Mercury Mine was initially investigated in the 1990s by the EPA, for possible inclusion on the EPA's National Priorities List, but the site did not rank high enough at that time to be listed. A site reassessment was begun in 2002, and an expanded site assessment begun in 2009, which was concluded in October 2010.[11] In March 2011, the EPA proposed New Idria to its National Priority List.[12] Elevated levels of mercury were found downstream of the town, as well as significant levels of mercury and other heavy metals found within tailings piles on the site. The region has a long history of mining, with asbestos and chromium being mined in addition to mercury; the EPA's 2004 Risk Assessment for the nearby Clear Creek Management Area identified 86 separate abandoned mines in the vicinity.[13]The natural rock formations in the area have been shedding asbestos-rich debris into stream valleys for millions of years[14] The average New Idria rock contains 5-15% by volume short fiber asbestos.[14] The 2010 edition of Rand McNally's The Road Atlas labels the area immediately south of New Idria as an 'Asbestos Hazard Area'.
Mineral collecting[edit]
The New Idria Mining District is known for its abundance of rare minerals such as benitoite, named after the San Benito River. Gem quality benitoite is only found in this area of the world. New Idria is also home to serpentinite rock. Many thousands of tectonic events acting on the serpentinite have produced extensive deposits of short-fiber asbestos.[14]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abc'Idria'. Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
- ^ ab'New Idria Mine'. Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
- ^Area Code and school information was derived from US Department of Education files.
- ^'How do you pronounce Idria'. Archived from the original on 2006-08-21. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
- ^ abcd'New Idria'. Archived from the original on 2005-10-24. Retrieved 2005-07-28.
- ^Salley, Harold E. (1991) History of California Post Offices, 1849-1990, p. 99. The Depot, ISBN0-943645-27-1
- ^'The New Idria Time Line'. Archived from the original on 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^'Gould Rotary Furnace'. Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
- ^[1][dead link]
- ^Historic 'New Idria' listed as Superfund site, Thursday, September 15, 2011, KGO TV, San Francisco
- ^'New Idria superfund status at U.S. EPA'. Cfpub.epa.gov.
- ^'EPA – New Idria Mercury Mine'. Epa.gov.
- ^'Search for Superfund Sites Where You Live'. Epa.gov. September 4, 2015.
- ^ abcRoss, M (2003). 'History of asbestos discovery and use and asbestos related disease in context with the occurrence of asbestos within ophiolite complexes.' Geological Society of America, special paper 373
External links[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Idria. |
- 'New Idria Historical Preservation Project'. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016.
Home of the 'Molina Ghost Run'
Visitor #16272 since 22.DEC.2004
Contents:
- Trip Reports
Information:
Located about an hour and a half south of Hollister, CA. on state highway 25, is the BLM Clear Creek Management Area. There are numerous trails in this rather large area, one of which is the famous Molina Ghost Run.
El Niño Update
This winter's storms have taken their toll on this OHV area. Before heading out to Clear Creek, it is a good idea to check the status of Hwy. 25 on the Cal-Trans web page and to call the BLM Clear Creek hotline at +1.408.630.5060. Latest report has it that the park was partially re-opened on 02/27/98. Apparently, there is access from the south via Coalinga and the west from King City. The north access via Hwy. 25 is still washed out about 5 mi. south of Hollister, however, it is possible to cut across Cienega Road which comes out south of the closure. Inside the area, the main county road is washed out about 10.5 miles east of the entrance, so access to the Idria site is not possible. They are taking volunteers for work parties, you can call +1.408.630.5020 to sign up.
As the name implies, the area is located in the Clear Creek drainage on Clear Creek Road. The road is accessible by fording the San Benito River (you've got diff breathers, right?) from the Coalinga - Los Gatos Road which connects the town of Coalinga to the south and Hwy. 25 to the north. Its about 56 miles south of Hollister and 35 north of Coalinga. The area extends about 12 miles up stream, with trails on both sides of the valley. Base elevation is about 2200 feet and trails top out well over 4000 feet on either side. On a mid-January visit, the highest peaks had a dusting of fresh snow. Vegetation runs from oaks and pines down low, to madrone and brush up higher. Some hillsides are nearly bare of plants, probably due to different mineralogy. It is quite spectacular scenery and there are numerous abandoned and working mercury, asbestos and gemstone mines.
I found there were no trail maps available on my first visit, other than a faded topo map posted at one of the trailheads. I contacted the BLM in Hollister and they sent me copy of the trail map (I'd recommend you do the same). The county road (gravel) enters from the far left edge of the map (above), following Clear Creek upstream to the right and downwards. I'll try to describe the trails I visited in the order they are encountered traveling upstream.
| Name | Begins | Ends | Length (miles) | Rating |
| Molina Ghost Run | Oak Flat Campground | New Idria town site | 10 | Difficult? |
| North Ridge Road | Second Campground | ? | 10 | Moderate? |
| Jade Mill Road | Second Campground | North Quicksilver Hill | 3 | Moderate? |
| Trail One | Staging Area One | ? | ? | Difficult |
| Slim's Trail | Staging Area One | ? | ? | Moderate |
| Handlebar Hill | Staging Area Two | ? | ? | Easiest |
| Quicksilver Hill | Staging Area Two | ? | ? | Easiest |
| North Quicksilver Hill | Staging Area Two | Jade Mill/Country Road intersection | 1.5 | Moderate |
There are no fees to enter this area and correspondingly, there are almost no facilities.
New Idria Poker Run Game
Molina Ghost Run:
New Idria Poker Run Results
If anyone has a Ghost Run trip report they would like to submit, I'll gladly post anything you send me.
New Idria Poker Runs
Trip Report - 19.JAN.1998:
After a wonderful weekend in Panamint and Death Valleys and with a winter storm headed towards the Sierras, I decided to head home Sunday evening via Bakersfield and I-5 along with Tim and Bob Stucky. We parted company when they turned north on Hwy. 99, and after gassing up I headed north on I-5. I was getting tired around midnight, so a quick look at the maps showed I could cut over towards Coalinga where I pulled over for the rest of the night. At daybreak, I wandered through town and the oil fields to the west and finally found Los Gatos Creek Road. It had been raining and there were numerous places where water was flowing over the road.
After about an hour of driving out of Coalinga, I came across the sign to the Clear Creek Management Area. You need to ford the San Benito River (visible just over the top of the sign), which was flowing about hub deep with the recent rains. After a few miles on the gravel county road, you hit Oak Flat Campground. If I had thought to bring some information, I would have known this is the start of the Molina Ghost Run, but since I saw no signs, I kept on going.
At a small, undeveloped campground, I saw the signs for North Ridge and Jade Mill roads. I aired down to 16 PSI and locked in the front hubs. I followed this road a ways up the hill, until I ran into a homestead and I turned around.
Further up the road I hit the OHV Staging Area One parking lot. There was a wicked looking hill climb to the north of the lot, so I tried it (its rated Most Difficult - black diamond)). Severely rutted and covered in greasy mud, I amazed myself at getting up as high as I did. Up to 30° incline, the truck just motored up. The wheels were spinning, but still making headway. After passing a water break to the left, the trail got a whole lot steeper and forward momentum stopped.
This was 35°+, and even with parking brake and low gear, the truck just barely would stay put. I got out to survey the trail and decided that I didn't want to back all the way down. So the best bet was to back down to the water break and do a three point turn there. I got onto the diagonal break, then got the front end up and over the berm, pointing about 45°down slope. The side slope was up around 20° and was feeling a bit tippy with the right front dropping away. I got out and looked some more. It looked like I would go beyond the static limit of rolling (if I stopped) but if I made the rest of the drop in a continuous motion, I'd be pointed straight downhill before rolling. Taking a deep breath, I let the clutch out, all four M/Ts began clawing at the mud and over I went. It was a few seconds before I could see the road over the hood and it worked, I was turned and the greasy side was still down!
So, after catching my breath, I decided to stick to green and blue runs, due to the mud. To the south, across Clear Creek, was a blue run, called Slim's Trail. In the shade of the north slope, it was even greasier, and I ended up in the same boat. Stuck on the steep section just feet from the crest. Once again, I backed into a water break and got turned around.
Further up the county road, is Staging Area Two. Two green tails led off to the south, I tried Handlebar Hill, because it looked rockier, figuring I'd have better traction there. Around the first corner, the rocks ended and I proceeded up the muddy road. Once again, feet from the top, forward progress ground to a halt and I had to back down to a flat area and turn around. Gosh, three strikes, I was about ready to call it quits.
I decided to give it one more try and saw the North Quicksilver Hill trail to the north. Figuring that the south-facing slope would be somewhat drier, I headed up this blue run. After a few steep spots and ruts, including one off-camber section where the rear Detroit locker caused the rear end to swing downhill, while the TrueTrac up front held the slope nicely.
I finally got up onto the ridge and a trail junction, indicating I'd come 1.5 miles. I took the fork that went on towards the barren ridge to the east, but the trail was very narrow and looked to be getting narrower fast, so I backed down and took the Jade Mill fork (I'd seen the other end earlier) so at least I figured I knew where I was going (no maps, etc.). The road follows a fence line down the ridge. I checked out each downhill section carefully, since I just might have to climb it if the road petered out.
After one steep downhill section, I found a nice little undeveloped ridgetop campsite. Also saw some fresh truck tracks, so the route must go on. Finally the road started to drop off the ridge along a badly rutted road. With the slippery mud, it was often not possible to straddle the ruts. Once I got stuck in one that wanted to take me off the edge of the road. I had my left front hanging in the air, but the right front had enough traction to pull me out and back onto the road. Hit one tight turn that required some maneuvering to negotiate and then came out on the other side of the homestead I had first seen, about 3 miles from the junction on the ridge.
New Idria Poker Run Games
I got back to the county road and headed back to the main road. After airing up, I took a few slow passes across the river to wash off as much gunk as I could the headed north towards Hwy. 25, near the Pinnacle National Monument turnoff.
The fields were so green with the winter rains. Gassed up in Hollister and hit a real cloudburst before reaching Hwy. 101. Between the river and rain, most of the mud was gone when I got home. Went through $3 of quarters at the local car wash to get the rest of it.
Links:
Here are some links to other sites with more information on this area:
- The BLM Clear Creek web page.
- The California 4WD Club Associations annual Molina Ghost Run trip.
- The Rover Web's New Idria Mine trip description.