The Castle Dome Mountains are a mountain range in Yuma County, Arizona

Yuma County, Arizona

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*70.4% White*2.0% Black*1.6% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.8% Two or more races*20.8% Other races*59.7% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, within the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

The Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is located northeast of Yuma, Arizona, southeast of Quartzsite, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. The refuge, established in 1939 to protect Desert Bighorn Sheep, encompasses over of the Yuma Desert region of the Sonoran Desert...

. Castle Dome peak, the high point of the range, is a prominent and distinctive landmark. The peak is 3776 feet (1,150.9 m) high, and is located at 33°05′04"N 114°08′36"W. Castle Dome was named by American soldiers at old Fort Yuma

Fort Yuma

Fort Yuma is a fort in California that is located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department of the Interior. The Fort Yuma Indian School and a...

 in the 1880s. Early Spanish explorers called the same peak Cabeza de Gigante, "Giant's Head."

Mining

The Castle Dome mining district is one of Yuma County's oldest and most productive mining locations. Its proximity to the Colorado River

Colorado River

The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

 and relatively low rates of freight at the time permitted the mining of even low grades of ore which wouldn't have been profitable at other locations. In addition to silver and lead, the area is rich in numerous other minerals, including zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

, copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

, gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

, and many others. Total production from the Castle Dome mines included 10697 short tons (9,550.9 LT) of lead, 498000 troy ounces (15,489,531.5 g) of silver, 38 short tons (33.9 LT) of zinc, 36 short tons (32.1 LT) of copper, 2000 troy ounces (62,207 g) of gold, and 7000 troy ounces (217,724.3 g) of placer gold production, mostly prior to 1900.

Settlements

The area was home to the town and mining camp of Castle Dome based around the Castle Dome Mine which first produced silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 and later lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

. The post office opened in 1875 and closed in 1876. Castle Dome ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 is now a museum site-(Castle Dome Mines Museum), with twenty or so restored period buildings.

Castle Dome Landing

Castle Dome Landing, Arizona

Castle Dome Landing, Arizona is a ghost town in the Castle Dome Mountains of Yuma County in the U.S. state of Arizona...

 was the port and supply point nearby on the Colorado River. The townsite is now submerged beneath the Imperial Dam

Imperial Dam

The Imperial Diversion Dam is a concrete slab and buttress, ogee weir structure across the California/Arizona border, northeast of Yuma. Completed in the 1938, the dam retains the waters of the Colorado River into the Imperial Reservoir before desilting and diversion into the All-American Canal,...

 reservoir.

Mineral collecting

The Castle Dome mining district is a popular district for mineral collectors. The region is known for striking combinations of cerussite

Cerussite

Cerussite is a mineral consisting of lead carbonate , and an important ore of lead. The name is from the Latin cerussa, white lead. Cerussa nativa was mentioned by Conrad Gessner in 1565, and in 1832 F. S. Beudant applied the name cruse to the mineral, whilst the present form, cerussite, is due to...

, fluorite

Fluorite

Fluorite is a halide mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It is an isometric mineral with a cubic habit, though octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon...

, vanadinite

Vanadinite

Vanadinite is a mineral belonging to the apatite group of phosphates, with the chemical formula Pb53Cl. It is one of the main industrial ores of the metal vanadium and a minor source of lead. A dense, brittle mineral, it is usually found in the form of red hexagonal crystals. It is an uncommon...

, wulfenite

Wulfenite

Wulfenite is a lead molybdate mineral with the formula PbMoO4. It can be most often found as thin tabular crystals with a bright orange-red to yellow-orange color, sometimes brown, although the color can be highly variable. In its yellow form it is sometimes called "yellow lead ore".It crystallizes...

, barite

Barite

Baryte, or barite, is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate. The baryte group consists of baryte, celestine, anglesite and anhydrite. Baryte itself is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of barium...

, and mimetite

Mimetite

Mimetite, whose name derives from the Greek Μιμητής mimethes, meaning "imitator", is an arsenate mineral which forms as a secondary mineral in lead deposits, usually by the oxidation of galena and arsenopyrite. The name is a reference to mimetite's resemblance to the mineral pyromorphite...

, as well as galenite and anglesite

Anglesite

Anglesite is a lead sulfate mineral with the chemical formula PbSO4. It occurs as an oxidation product of primary lead sulfide ore, galena. Anglesite occurs as prismatic orthorhombic crystals and earthy masses, and is isomorphous with barite and celestine. It contains 74% of lead by mass and...

. The Hull Mine and Puzzler Mine in particular have produced atypical green vanadinite and mimetite as well as yellow-hued wulfenite.

External links

• Castle Dome ghost town museum photo gallery
• "Forgotten mining era revived", Arizona Republic article on Castle Dome ghost town
• Famous mineral localities: The Castle Dome District, Yuma County, Arizona. Summary -- US library card required for full article.
• Castle Dome Mines Museum's official website