Eureka Landing, Arizona

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Eureka or Eureka Landing, is a former mining town and steamboat landing, now a ghost town, on the Arizona bank of the Colorado River in what is now La Paz County, Arizona. It was originally located in Yuma County, Arizona from 1863 through the 1870s. [1] :34,64, 167

Steamboat smaller than a steamship; boat in which the primary method of marine propulsion is steam power

A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S or PS, however these designations are most often used for steamships.

Ghost town city depopulated of inhabitants and that stays practically intact

A ghost town is an abandoned village, town, or city, usually one that contains substantial visible remains. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, prolonged droughts, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, pollution, or nuclear disasters. The term can sometimes refer to cities, towns, and neighbourhoods that are still populated, but significantly less so than in past years; for example, those affected by high levels of unemployment and dereliction.

Colorado River major river in the western United States and Mexico

The Colorado River is one of the principal rivers in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The 1,450-mile-long (2,330 km) river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. and two Mexican states. Starting in the central Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the river flows generally southwest across the Colorado Plateau and through the Grand Canyon before reaching Lake Mead on the Arizona–Nevada border, where it turns south toward the international border. After entering Mexico, the Colorado approaches the mostly dry Colorado River Delta at the tip of the Gulf of California between Baja California and Sonora.

Contents

History

In the fall of 1863, the Eureka Mining District was formed when silver strikes were made in the Chocolate Mountains of Arizona. Eureka Landing and Williamsport grew serving these new mines in the district. The landings and mining district appear in the 1865 Map of the new Arizona Territory. Eureka was a small cluster of adobe buildings on the riverbank, 45 miles up river from Arizona City and 2 miles down river from Williamsport. Across the river was the Picacho Mining District. [1] :40,64

The Chocolate Mountains of Arizona are located in the southwestern part of the state east of the Trigo Mountains and southwest of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. The mountains are located about 30 miles east of the Chocolate Mountains of California, but the two ranges are not connected. The range in Arizona lies in a southwest-northeasterly direction west of Highway 95 on the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground. This area is patrolled by the Military Police from Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona.

Williamsport is a former mining town and present day ghost town, on the bank of the Colorado River in La Paz County, Arizona.

Today

Today the Eureka Landing on the riverbank has disappeared. Only the Eureka Mine at 33°02′19″N114°33′54″W / 33.03861°N 114.56500°W / 33.03861; -114.56500 , abandoned in a canyon above the site remains to indicate its location.

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