While camping deep in “gold” country this weekend, we learned about the practice of hydraulic mining in the mid 1800′s. Large water pathways were carved through the land, and water was funneled into smaller and smaller tubes until the stream became a powerful jet that washed away mountains in the quest for gold. A good read about the practice is available here.
They found a lot of gold, killed a lot of people, and completed wiped out hundreds of miles of habitat. Over 320 million wheelbarrels of material were moved by one hydraulic operation that I visited.
Modern mining methods are very different, and much safer. Fewer than 5 miners have died nationwide this year, and most of those from small wildcat or family owned mines.
MSHA is more proactive and rigorous in it’s safety enforcement than even OSHA.
I know this because I went through the MSHA safety program this year, and got to observe mine safety in several sites for a long contract this Summer.
Since the 1800′s, I hope the locations you visited have re-established their biomes.