Loading map...

1951 Map of La Porte

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of La Porte
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

Gold mining history permeates the high ridges of the Plumas National Forest and Tahoe National Forest in this mid-century survey. The landscape is defined by a dense network of placer diggings and named shafts such as the Woods Mine and Union Keystone Mine. Settlements like La Porte and Gibsonville serve as anchors along Gibsonville Ridge, while smaller sites like Port Wine, Queen City, and Howland Flat reflect the localized intensity of early California extraction.

The presence of historical cemeteries, including Pine Grove Cem and St Louis Cem, offers vital grounding for genealogists researching the families who worked these claims. Water management for mining is visible through extensive infrastructure like the Ditch networks and reservoirs including Little Grass Valley Reservoir. This record of the Slate Creek drainage reveals the enduring imprint of 19th-century hydraulic and quartz mining on the northern Sierra Nevada terrain.