boutwkll.] ORE DEPOSITS OF BINGHAM, UTAH. 107 
and lasts until late in May. The range as a whole is not well watered. 
In the region embracing Bingham Canyon only the main canyons and 
their immediate tributaries carry water, and after the spring passage 
of the accumulated precipitation of the winter the flow gradually 
decreases until in mid and late summer water becomes scarce, occa- 
sionally disappears for considerable stretches from the stream beds 
during the day, and seeps through the discrete material constituting 
the stream beds in their lower courses. Several good springs are 
known in the range, such as that in Ophir Canyon, those at the head 
of Butterfield Canyon, and that in Tooele Canyon. In the vicinity of 
the mining regions, however, the main sources of water supply for 
domestic and commercial use are subterranean courses tapped by 
underground workings. 
The vegetation is relatively sparse. This fact is doubtless due to 
the steepness and ledgy character of the slopes, and consequent thin- 
ness of the soil, and to low precipitation. Although more favored 
than man}^ of the basin ranges, the Oquirrhs, particularly in the region 
about Bingham, support neither the variety nor the extent of vege- 
table growth which flourishes upon their more loft} 7 and better watered 
neighbor, the Wasatch Mountains. Sagebrush (Artemisia) is the chief 
growth on the lower slopes adjoining the deserts. Scrub oak with an 
occasional cactus plant (Puntia vulgaris), juniper, spruces, and some 
pine characterize the middle elevations; and mountain mahogany, 
certain grasses, and Alpine varieties of wild flowers alone inhabit the 
higher peaks. 
HISTORY AND PRODUCTION. 
The Bingham district is unique in that it includes the oldest recorded 
mining claim in the State, is the only district in Utah in which placer 
mining has been successfully prosecuted, and to-d&y leads the camps 
of Utah in the production of copper. Only the more important stages 
in the extremely interesting and instructive history of this unique 
camp may be noted here. 
Early in the fall of 1863 ore was discovered by George B. Ogilvie, 
an apostate Mormon, near the head of the main Bingham Canyon. 
On September 17, 1863, each of the 25 members of the Jordan Silver 
Mining Company formally located there " for mining purposes " one 
claim "of 200 feet each and one additional claim of 200 feet for the 
original discoverer. " rt This is the earliest recorded mining claim in 
Utah. Active prospecting led to the discovery and location of prom- 
ising croppings, but lack of facilities for transportation rendered 
extensive mining operations at this time impracticable. "The first 
shipment of ores from Utah was a carload of copper ore from Bing- 
ham Canyon, hauled to Uintah on the Union Pacific, and forwarded 
by Walker Brothers to Baltimore in June, 1868. " 6 
a Records at office of surveyor-general of Utah, Salt Lake City. 
''Bancroft, H H , History of (Mali, p. 741. 
