Old Cripple Creek

The gold-bearing area of the Cripple Creek district (and the town) sits in the core of an ancient volcano six square miles square. This was taken in 1897, at the peak of the population boom. Everything burned to the ground shortly after this, and was eventually rebuilt. But Cripple Creek was never as large as this again.

The richest gold here existed in veins and deposits deep in the old volcano. I say "existed" because most of it has been mined out. Beneath our feet, the entire area is honeycombed with tunnels and mines. Now the mining is all "open pit" and massive amounts of ore must be ground up and processed to extract tiny amounts of pure gold. Obviously, with the price of gold so high, it's economically feasible to do this now. My dad and I are taking a tour this morning of the mining operation, and will get to see the enormous pit and processing equipment. More on that later...