82 CONTRIBUTIONS TO ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, 1902. [bull. 213. 
Present developments. — The development of the new camp has been 
astonishingly quick. The property was offered to and refused by 
Western capitalists for a very small sum when the exploration pits 
were only down a few feet, the reason for refusal being that the rich 
ores were probably only superficial Later on, when the developments 
had progressed a little further, the property was acquired at a larger 
figure by a Philadelphia company. They adopted the principle of 
leasing to develop their mine. The leasers set to work vigorously and 
in a short time a number of them had extracted sufficient rich ore to 
make fortunes of various sizes. Being satisfied with the prospects 
of the mine, the company gave out no more leases, but took the 
management into their own hands as soon as possible. From that 
time to the present the chief mine, the Mizpah, has been conducted 
with a view to developing the resources as a basis for future opera- 
tions rather than to extracting ore. A number of fine shafts have 
been sunk, and the country has been and is being thoroughly investi- 
gated, both by drifts along the principal vein and by crosscuts. 
Outside of Mr. Butler's original local ions, which became the property 
of the Mizpah Company, and those immediately adjoining, numerous 
other locations were soon made, until now it is doubtful if there is a 
bit of unclaimed ground within several miles. Soon a number of other 
shafts were sunk, although with few or no surface indications. The 
Fraction shaft, not far from the Mizpah, passed downward through a 
body of cap rock of volcanic nature and found mineral veins contain- 
ing large values in some places. Later on, the Mizpah Extension, on 
the other side of the Mizpah, encountered veins of the same system 
after passing through several hundred feet of cap rock. This has 
encouraged other companies to sink shafts through the capping, and 
many of them are down several hundred feet. Among these may be 
mentioned the Ohio Tonopah, the California Tonopah, the Montana 
Tonopah, the New York Tonopah, the Tonopah City, and the MacNa- 
mara. Work is being pushed vigorously, and before long much of the 
underground composition of the district will be shown up. 
TOPOGRAPHY. 
The topography around Tonopah is not one of great relief. A series 
of low and small, detached, and irregular mountains surrounds the 
town. The mountains are of volcanic origin, but have been worn 
down by erosion so that they have rugged and characteristic erosion 
features. The town itself lies in a shallow valley or wash, and from 
here a long, gentle wash-slope comes down to a nearly level desert 
valley both on the east and on the west. 
GENERAL GEOLOGY. 
A f ew miles north of Tonopah ancient limestones, probably Cam- 
brian or Silurian, outcrop, and similar limestones are found some 
miles to the south, in the southern Klondike district. In the imme- 
