Round Mountain, Nevada facts for kids
Round Mountain is a small town in Nye County, Nevada, in the United States. In 2014, about 1,868 people lived there. The town's special code for mail is 89045.
Round Mountain is most famous for the Round Mountain Gold Mine. This is a huge open pit gold mine that uses a method called heap-leaching to get gold. A company called Kinross Gold Corporation owns it. Gold mining started in this area in 1906. By 2006, the mine had produced over 10 million ounces of gold! That much gold was worth about 9.5 billion US dollars in 2009. The gold is found around an old, collapsed volcano called a caldera. It's usually very tiny pieces, but sometimes you can see bigger, shiny pieces of gold.
The original town of Round Mountain is still there, close to the mine. But a newer town called Hadley was built, which is like a new home for the community. Since Hadley was built for the Round Mountain Gold mine and its workers, people often call both towns, and sometimes even the nearby town of Carvers, by the general name "Round Mountain."
Contents
What's in Hadley?
Hadley is a well-planned community with many facilities for its residents. It has an elementary school and a high school. For sports, there's a football field, three baseball fields, and an indoor swimming pool. People can also enjoy a golf course and a fitness trail.
The town has important services like a post office and a grocery store. There are two gym facilities, one with a weight room and racquetball courts. Hadley also has a recreational park, a gas station, a laundromat, and a bed & breakfast. For community life, there are a few churches, a fishing pond, two tennis courts, and a community center. The town is kept safe by a fire department and an emergency medical service (E.M.S.). Other conveniences include an RV park, storage units, a nail salon, horse corrals, a restaurant/bar, and several playgrounds for children.
What's in Carvers?
The Carvers area also offers several services. It has a gas station, a motel, and storage units. There's a church, a rest stop, a restaurant/bar, and an RV park. For entertainment and hobbies, Carvers has a roping arena and a museum. Practical needs are met with a hardware store, an auto parts store, and a tire repair shop. There's also a hair salon and a small apartment complex.
Community Services in Round Mountain
The Round Mountain Volunteer Fire Department keeps the community safe. It has one fire station in Hadley, with one paid worker and 23 volunteer firefighters. Round Mountain also has a volunteer emergency medical service called The Smoky Valley E.M.S.
The Round Mountain Public Library is part of the local library system. It has about 35,000 books and other items. Each year, people borrow nearly 40,000 items from the library. This library serves the town's population of 1,868 residents. In 2013, the Smoky Valley Library District (which includes the Round Mountain Public Library) was recognized as one of the best libraries in the state, earning a four-star rating or higher out of five.
Schools and Activities
Round Mountain has two main schools. Round Mountain Jr./Sr. High School teaches students from 6th to 12th grade. Their mascot is the Knight, and their school colors are black, white, and silver. Round Mountain Elementary School is for students from kindergarten to 5th grade. Their mascot is the Squire.
The Jr./Sr. high school offers many sports, including football, volleyball, wrestling, boys' and girls' basketball, track & field, softball, baseball, and boys' and girls' golf. Students can also join extracurricular activities like cheerleading, drill team, FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), FFA (Future Farmers of America), National Honor Society, Science Club, Student Council, and Academic Olympics.
History of Round Mountain
Gold Mining History
Gold was first found in Round Mountain in 1905. The town itself was started in 1906. At first, miners dug underground to find gold until 1935. Then, from 1935 to 1940, they used big machines to dig for gold on the surface. Later, from 1950 to 1957, they used a method called placer mining, which involved washing the gold out of the dirt. A lot of "hydraulic mining" was also done, where powerful water jets were used to break up rock and soil. By 1940, the total value of gold found was about $7.8 million. Some people still lived in the town between 1965 and 1969.
When more gold was found in 1906, many people became interested in the area. High-quality gold ore was discovered on a hill called Round Mountain. By the middle of that year, about 400 people lived there. Many large mining companies started working in the area, and the town was named Round Mountain. By 1907, stagecoaches traveled daily between Round Mountain and another town called Tonopah. The town had many wooden buildings, including stores, saloons, and a school and library.
In 1906, the first two big mining companies were the Round Mountain Mining Company and the Fairview Round Mountain Mines Company. The Round Mountain Company produced over $3 million worth of gold in its first ten years (1906-1916). By early 1909, there were six mills working in the area to process the gold. The town also had hotels, general stores, banks, restaurants, and a hospital. By 1939, the town's population was 234. New surface mining operations began again in 1970 and are still going on today.
The Historic School Building
The original Round Mountain School was built in 1936. It had two teachers and taught students from first to twelfth grade all in one building. This school building was used until the mid-1990s. After that, a person named Karl W. Berg moved the building and turned it into the Sunnyside Museum.
Images for kids
-
An aerial view of the Round Mountain gold mine in 2008. The mine is a very large open pit!
-
These are the heap-leach pads at the Round Mountain gold mine in 2008. This is where gold is separated from the rock.
-
A beautiful piece of crystalline gold found at the Round Mountain Mine.
See also
In Spanish: Round Mountain (Nevada) para niños
