Salt Spring Hills facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Salt Spring Hills |
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Salt Spring Hills, San Bernardino County, California.
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 928 ft (283 m) |
| Geography | |
 Location in California
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | Mojave Desert |
| District | San Bernardino County |
| Range coordinates | 35°38′37.895″N 116°16′18.079″W / 35.64385972°N 116.27168861°W |
| Topo map | USGS Saddle Peak Hills |
The Salt Spring Hills are a group of small mountains. You can find them in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. They are located right next to the southeastern edge of Death Valley National Park. They are also southeast of another area called the Saddle Peak Hills. The main road connecting the towns of Shoshone and Baker goes right through these hills.
Discovering the Salt Spring Hills
The Old Spanish Trail was an important path. From 1831 to 1848, travelers used it to cross the desert. This trail went past the Salt Spring Hills. It passed near a place called Salt Spring and Amargosa Spring.
Gold Rush in the Desert
In 1849, a man named Jefferson Hunt led a group of Mormon travelers. They were taking wagons along the Old Spanish Trail to Los Angeles. They camped at Salt Spring, which is east of the Salt Spring Hills. Some people in the group found gold in the nearby creek. They followed the gold to a quartz rock vein in the hills.
The Salt Spring Hills got their name from Salt Spring. This was the place where gold was first found. This discovery started the very first gold rush in the Mojave Desert. Many mining companies tried to find gold in these hills starting in the early 1850s.
Early Settlers and Mining
In late 1864, Mrs. Rousseau and her doctor husband traveled through the Mojave Desert. They were part of a wagon train going from Utah to San Bernardino. This group passed the Salt Spring Hills. Mrs. Rousseau wrote in her diary on December 4th that there were four houses and a quartz mill there. She also mentioned that three men who cared for a mine had been killed by Native Americans eight weeks earlier.
