The old mining town of Humbug is an interesting place to visit but this is really the money shot. Back in California's Gold Rush era this is where the action was. This valley, and it probably wasn't a valley originally, was the scene of the last hydraulic mining operation in CA. The miners washed so much toxic material down the streams that the State finally had enough and passed laws to outlaw this mining practice. I imagine that back in the day this valley was just an eroded, washed out wasteland. But Mother Nature is not to be denied and things have bounced back rather nicely over the years. The eroded hills even lend a complimentary look to the area now, almost as if they were landscaped by a master gardner with a grand vision.
Malakoff Diggins, Nevada County CA
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