Ingersoll-Rand Motor #1 Cerro Gordo Mine, CA This image of an Ingersoll-Rand engine was taken at the Cerro Gordo mine located toward the South end of the Inyo Mountains. This motor appears to be the same model as the that used in the Darwin Mine. The motor is located in the same building as the main mine shaft and was used to power the hoist and other mining equipment. Empty mountings indicate where other units have been removed. Cerro Gordo, Spanish for 'Fat Hill', was a very productive silver-lead-zinc mining district from the 1870's through around 1915. The site is located at about 8500 feet elevation and is accessed by an infamously rough, steep, narrow, and winding road. Ore was smelted on-site and the ingots hauled by over-loaded freight wagon down the perilous grade. At one time, a steamship operated in (now dry) Lake Owens to haul supplies to the mining camps and to return with the processed metals. Cerro Gordo was famous for an aerial tramway used to haul ore buckets down the mountain to the smelters. I visited Cerro Gordo the morning after photographing at the Darwin Mine. The road up to the site lived up to expectations, but offered breathtaking views overlooking Lake Owens dry lake. (For the return trip, it was 4WD LOW most of the way down!) Like Titus Canyon in Death Valley, the drive is worth taking for the geology alone! Arriving at Cerro Gordo, I met the current owner, Mike, and his crew busy repairing the roof on the old hotel, now a Bed and Breakfast. After a friendly chat (and leaving a donation in the bucket at the gift shop), I gained access to the site. Copyright © 2002-2004 Jerry Day If you arrived here by search engine, click here to see the rest of site. |
DarkSkyDreams Night Photography by Jerry Day |
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