Panamint City, California

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See also: Panamint Springs, California

Panamint City

Area of Panamint (official name) or Panamint City and Panamint Springs.

Panamint City is a ghost town in the Panamint Range, near Death Valley, in California. It is also known by the official Board of Geographic Names identity, Panamint. ^[1] In the late 19th century, the town had a population of about 2,000 and its own newspaper, the Panamint News. Silver was the principle product being mined in the area. The town is located about three miles northwest of Sentinel Peak. According to the National Geographic Names Database, NAD27 latitude and longitude for the locale are 36°07′06″N, 117°05′40″W and the feature ID number is 1661185. The elevation of this location is identified as being 6,280 feet AMSL. The similar-sounding Panamint Springs, California is located about 25.8 miles at 306.4 degrees off true north near Panamint Junction. ^[2]

Today, only the most dedicated 4x4 enthusiasts using highly modified vehicles with winches can make a motorized trip up—and then it often takes more time than it does to walk up. There is always water running down this section of the canyon, the source is Limekiln Springs, and the water runs above ground for about a mile and a half.

1 History
2 Nearby features
3 See also
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] History

Founded in 1873-74, the town grew to include many mills, saloons, stores, a red light district, a cemetery—all built along the uppermost end of the Surprise Canyon. Panamint City was regarded as a "bad and wicked" town, with Death Valley at one end of town and the Panamint Range at the other end. Due to the constant hijacking of the ore wagon, the miners soon cast the silver into one large ingot that was too big and heavy to be stolen.

On July 24, 1876, a flash flood roared down the canyon and washed nearly the entire town. The County of Inyo maintained the road to Panamint City until about 1983, when a terrific series of cloudbursts completely washed the canyon out to bedrock.

[edit] Nearby features

Sentinel Peak is plotted on the 1988, Panamint, California topographic map at NAD83 latitude and longitude 36°05′47″N, 117°04′39″W.
Thompson Camp is plotted near NAD83 latitude and longitude 36°07′15″N, 117°05′19″W on the 1988, Panamint, California topographic map.
Hemlock Mine is plotted on the 1988, Panamint, California topographic map at NAD83 latitude and longitude 36°06′08″N, 117°05′50″{{{8}}}. ^[3]

[edit] See also

List of ghost towns

[edit] Notes

^ Panamint, California, 7.5-minute quadrangle, US Geological Survey, 1988 and National Geographic Names Database, US Geological Survey.
^ Panamint Springs, California, 7.5-minute quadrangle, US Geological Survey, (1986), Panamint, California, 7.5-minute quadrangle, US Geological Survey, (1988) and National Geographic Names Database, US Geological Survey, March, 1998.
^ Panamint, California, 7.5-minute quadrangle, US Geological Survey, 1988