Northern Nevada, Part 1 - May 6 thru 14, 2007 (Re-run)

 Carlin is a small town of just over 2000 population, which has been declining for some years.  However, Carlin produces more than 75% of the gold in the U.S.  Because it is low grade ore, strip mining is the most efficient way to recover it, never mind the damage to the land.  Ore is crushed, roasted and spread around a hillside.  A cyanide solution is sprayed over the ore, releasing the gold to flow down hill.  A plastic lined ditch at the bottom captures the gold and the cyanide solution for re-use.

Pyramid Lake is on the Northern Paiute Reservation about 40 miles northeast of Reno.  Fed by the Truckee River, the lake has no outlet.  It is the last remnant of the huge Lake Lahotan formed by the last ice age.  Pyramid Lake was mapped by John C. Fremont, who named it for the pyramid shaped tufa formation in the lake.  It is home to a large number of White Pelicans.

 

Tufa formations on the shore indicate the lake was once much deeper.