Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park

Still able to take advantage of the unseasonably warm January weather this year, Dan and I, along with our hiking friends, took a drive to the Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, located 26 miles north-east of Nevada City, California, along Highway 49. In most Januaries, it wouldn't be unusual for this area to be blanketed in snow, but on the day we were there, it was warm enough to peel down to one layer during our hike. Malakoff Diggins preserves the largest hydraulic mining site in California, and visitors can see huge cliffs carved out by mighty streams of water, results of the mining technique of washing away entire mountains of gravel to wash out the gold. While beautiful in its own way, the Malakoff mine pit on the San Juan Ridge is a testimony to the greed and avarice that was part of the California Gold Rush, and to one of the nation's first environmental protection measures. In 1884, this method of mining was declared illegal by the courts, but not before irreversible damage had been done. Today, visitors like us can hike on miles of trails including ducking into some of the tunnels where the water used to flow. The town of North Bloomfield, preserved to depict life in this mid-1800's mining town, includes a visitor center, museum, church, school, general store, and a furnished home. It was fascinating to see how 130 years of natural restoration has started reshaping this ravaged landscape.