Hikes in Almaden Quicksilver County Park (July 2020)

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Located at the southwestern end of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Almaden Quicksilver County Park is the site of former mercury mining activities (quicksilver is another name for mercury) from 1847 until 1976. At their peak these mines were the second most productive mercury mines in the world. Various structures left over from the 129 years of mining activities dot the present-day park. In addition, the park boasts a good variety of landscapes, including spectacular views of the southern portion of the San Francisco Bay, the eastern slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the western slopes of the Diablo Range.

 

Bits of history: Long before the ″discovery″ of this mining potential by outsiders, local Indians (Ohlones) used to get paint pigment by crushing red blocks extracted from the ground. In 1845, a Mexican soldier, Andreas Castillero (after whom a trail of the park is named), noticed this activity and identified the red blocks as cinnabar (mercury ore). As mercury was in high demand in Mexico to process silver and gold, he claimed the site and mining began in 1847, a couple of years before the California Gold Rush, which in turn became a large consumer of mercury. In 1850 California joined the United States as a new state. In 1863 the Supreme Court of the US declared that the Castillero claim was fraudulent, which led President Lincoln to order the local US Marshal to take possession of the mine for the United States. However, he soon retracted this order after recognizing that it could scare other mine owners and encourage California to secede from the Union.

 

Map, with hiked trails marked with red dotted lines.

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[Source: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/parkfinder/Documents/Almaden%20Quicksilver%20Guide%20Map.pdf.]

 

Left: start of Deep Gulch Trail near the park′s Hacienda Entrance. Right: along Deep Gulch Trail.

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Left-over structures at English Camp. Established in 1860 by immigrant Cornish miners, this camp was the largest settlement of miners and their families. [See here for another place in North America (in the State of Hidalgo, Mexico) where Cornish miners made an even bigger impact.]

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On Church Hill above English Camp.

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Structure at Spanish Town next to Hidalgo Cemetery Trail.

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View toward the southeast from Spanish Town with the Diablo mountain range in the background.

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Grove of black walnut trees alongside Hidalgo Cemetery Trail toward Hidalgo Cemetery, below Spanish Town.

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Hidalgo Cemetery Trail.

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Views over Almaden Reservoir from Hidalgo Cemetery Trail.

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Site of Hidalgo Cemetery.

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Trail below Hidalgo Cemetery leading to a tall chimney (following photos).

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Tall chimney below Hidalgo Cemetery. The chimney released dangerous sulfuric gases high in the air, which were generated by the cinnabar reduction furnaces operating below next to the present-day Hacienda Entrance of the park.

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The tall chimney seen from English Camp Trail.

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Remains of a rotary furnace installed in 1940 and used until 1976 at the junction of Yellow Kid and Wood Road Trails. The third picture below shows the large condenser pipes that cooled into liquid mercury the vapors generated by heating the crushed ore (cinnabars). The late construction of this ″modern″ furnace was motivated by the need for mercury in munitions to be used in WW II.

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San Cristobal Tunnel, near the intersection of Mine Hill and Castillero Trails.

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Shady section of Mine Hill Trail between its junctions with Castillero and April Trails.

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Chute and railroad trestle outside April Tunnel.

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View over South San Jose from April Trail.

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Collapsed Catherine Tunnel, near the junction of Castillero and Mine Hill Trails.

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View over the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area from Catherine Tunnel.

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Trees next to Catherine Tunnel.

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Along Mine Hill Trail northwest of Catherine Tunnel.

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View over southern San Jose from Mine Hill Trail.

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Mount Umunhum (1063m) capped with a former military radar tower and upper portion of Guadalupe Reservoir seen from Mine Hill Trail.

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Guadalupe Reservoir and its dam seen from Mine Hill Trail.

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View of Guadalupe Reservoir from further down along Mine Hill Trail.

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Another view of the reservoir from the dam.

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Views along New Almaden Trail.

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Dead sprawling tree along Randol Trail.

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Grove along Randol Trail.

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Pair of turkey vultures along Randol Trail.

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Remains of a structure that supported a pumphouse above a deep shaft at Buena Vista, next to the Randol Trail. The shaft, the construction of which began in 1882, reached a depth of 700m, 183m below sea level. It was mainly used to pump water from neighborhing mine tunnels. The large granite blocks in the first photo on the left were brought from the Sierra Nevada.

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Section of Day Tunnel Trail that connects Randol and Mine Hill Trails.

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Horse water trough (first photo below) and mine waste (second photo) at the junction of Day and Randol Trails.

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Views from the lower section of Mine Hill Trail near the park′s Hacienda Entrance.

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Along Hacienda Trail, north of Mine Hill Trail.

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