Chocolate Mountains-Mesquite Mining District

Gold has been recovered from the southeast end of the Chocolate Mountains in eastern Imperial County in an area east of Glamis, a stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad. The district includes the area known as the Mesquite mining district. The Paymaster lead-silver and manganese mining district is just to the north. This district was first prospected prior to 1900 both by quartz mining and small-scale dry placer methods. During the 1930s, several unsuccessful short-lived attempts were made to work the dry placer deposits on a large scale. Gold and silver associated with iron oxides in quartz veins occur in granitic rocks. The veins usually are narrow, but several high-grade pockets have been discovered. The placer deposits occur in the washes along the south and west flanks of the range.