Fish Lake Valley is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

located in the geographic Fish Lake Valley, within Esmeralda County, Nevada and Inyo County, California. It is just east of the White Mountains, the highest range entirely within the

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

at . There is sufficient rain and snow at high elevations to feed permanent streams from the mountains, providing irrigation for alfalfa and other crops, although the valley's elevation, in excess of , is a serious constraint.

History

Fish Lake Valley was originally settled in 1866, when the 'Palmetto Mining District' in Esmeralda County was formed, and settlement in Fish Lake Valley began. During the 1870s two companies, 'Griffing & Nyman's' and 'Pacific Borax Works' were located here extracting

borax Borax is a salt (ionic compound), a hydrated borate of sodium, with chemical formula often written . It is a colorless crystalline solid, that dissolves in water to make a basic solution. It is commonly available in powder or granular form, ...

at Fish Lake. The Carson and Columbus

Stage Line A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

ran north from Fish Lake Valley to Aurora and

Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...

, also connecting with Logsprings, Nevada in the Sylvania Mining District as well as

Lida Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuani ...

in the

Sylvania Mountains The Sylvania Mountains are located in Inyo County, California and Esmeralda County, Nevada in the United States. The range trends in an east–west direction, north of the Last Chance Range at the northern end of Death Valley National Park. The L ...

. Local ranches supplied food to the freight industry and mining communities such as Fish Lake Valley. A post office opened in Fish Lake Valley in 1881. Today a historical marker near the site commemorates the life of W.O. Harrell, known as "Harrell, the Irrepressible, Citizen Extraordinaire", of Fish Lake Valley in the 1870s. State Historical Marker No. 133. A Wm. O. Harrell of Fish Lake Valley is listed as registering a cattle ear mark in 1874.

References

{{authority control Ghost towns in Nevada Ghost towns in Esmeralda County, Nevada Ghost towns in Inyo County, California Mining communities in California Mining communities in Nevada Nevada historical markers White Mountains (California) Populated places established in 1866 1866 establishments in California 1866 establishments in Nevada