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1894 Map of Colfax

Name: 1894 Topographic Map of Colfax
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1894
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1894

About this map

Gold mining operations and deep river canyons characterize this late nineteenth-century survey of the northern Sierra Nevada. Heavy industrial investment is evident at the Derbec Mine, Delhi Mine, and Alaska Mine, while the landscape is carved by the Middle Fork Yuba River, South Fork Yuba River, and the North Fork American River. Higher elevations are marked by the rugged Black Mountains and Grouse Ridge.

Logistical networks are centered on the Central Pacific Railroad and the Nevada County Railroad, which connected remote hydraulic mining outposts like North Bloomfield and Washington to broader markets. The presence of settlements such as Alleghany, Forest City, and North Columbia, alongside the County Hospital and numerous toll houses, illustrates a mature mining district with established social and physical infrastructure.