Silver Peak

Old Post Office at Silver Peak. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Looking back toward Silver Peak and across Clayton Valley from the west. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

View of Clayton Valley, with Silver Peak beyond and partly hidden by the ridge to the left in the middle distance. The ponds contain some of the lithium-bearing brines. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

The lithium processing facility in 2015. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Clayton Valley, with the brine ponds showing. The prominent cinder cone in the distance on the slope to the right is Silver Peak Crater (or just "The Crater".) slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Another view of the lithium processing facility in 2015. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Ruin from the precious-metal mining days. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Looking southeasterly across an evaporation pond off the Silver Peak road. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

The lithium processing facility as of 2007. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Local corporate offices as of 2015. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Evaporation pond off the Silver Peak road. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Evaporation pond looking northwest off the Silver Peak road. The Crater cinder cone in the distance on the right. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Looking west to the Silver Peak range, behind the eponymous town, off the Silver Peak road. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Coming into Silver Peak from the east, on the Silver Peak road. The flats on either side are some of the evaporation ponds. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Ruin at Blair. The Crater cinder cone in the background. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Ruin at Blair. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Contemporary business in Silver Peak. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)

Silver was struck in the Silver Peak area around 1860, not long after the discovery of the Comstock Lode. The next burst of activity was in the early 20th century, with a gold discovery at Red Mountain. Because of soaring land prices in Silver Peak itself, a new town, Blair, with a stamp mill was built about three miles north. Intermittent mining for precious metals continued for decades, with Silver Peak never quite becoming a ghost town. Indeed, the run-up in precious metals prices in recent years has encouraged desultory exploration activity to the present day.

Since the latter 20th century, however, Silver Peak has become famous for the production of a high-tech metal: lithium. Brines in Clayton Valley immediately to the east are enriched in lithium, and extraction began by the Foote Mineral Company in 1966. The corporate ownership has changed over the decades, but the lithium mining has continued, such that now (2022) the area is the only domestic U.S. source of lithium. The processing involves using solar evaporation to concentrate the brines.

The juxtaposition of active industrial infrastructure with “ghost town” ambiance is a surreal feature of Silver Peak.

Know Before You Go

Silver Peak is reached by paved Nevada State Route 265 at Blair Junction, about 34 miles west of Tonopah on US 6-95. It can also be reached from the Silver Peak road, which intersects US-95 about 5 miles north of Goldfield. It's about 25 miles west on this road, of which the first seven miles (to Alkali Spring) are paved and the rest graded.

Even the dilapidated ruins remain private property, however; please respect them accordingly. Only ruins remain at Blair, but the site also remains privately owned. Please take only pictures and leave only footprints.