Rhyolite is a ghost town located near Beatty, NV, just on the outskirts of Death Valley National Park in the Bullfrog mining district.  Rhyolite was a typical gold mining boom town, first established in 1905.  It quickly swelled to almost 5,000 residents and by 1907 the town had electricity, phone service, water, a hospital, opera house and school.  All throughout this area of the southwest are old abandoned mines…tens-of-thousands of them.  This area is no different, except the concentration is very tightly grouped, as you come across tailings piles just about everywhere you explore.

Like so many towns during the gold rush days, Rhyolite’s growth and rise was short-lived.  By 1911 the mine was closed and out of work miners began leaving for other areas.  By 1920, the town was all but abandoned.

This is a very easy area to get to, with paved roads all the way into the ruins site.  And, being on the eastern edge of Death Valley, many people choose to add it to their sight-seeing itinerary.  Also, located in the same area (1 mile south of Rhyolite) is the Goldwell Open Air Museum.

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