Nelson’s Landing & Place Cove - Summary Page

{Click on an image to enlarge, then use the back button to return to this page}
This page last updated on 05/06/2018

(Fig. 01)

(Fig. 02)

Directions: From the Stratosphere Casino head northeast on Las Vegas Blvd about 3 miles and bear right to merge onto US-515/93/95 south towards Boulder City. Follow US-93/95 for 17 miles and then merge onto US-95 South (Veterans Memorial Hwy) toward Searchlight/Laughlin. Travel about 10 miles until you come to NV-165 on your left! Once past the town of Nelson, this long winding downhill grade follows El Dorado Canyon through the El Dorado Mountains past the Techatticup Mining Camp, following the 'wash' all the way down to the Public Recreation Area known as Nelson's Landing (Fig. 03).  Although there is no launch ramp, there is a paved road that takes you within a half mile of the lake, then it turns into a dirt road and continues down to the river's edge (Fig.01). To go to Place Cove, turn right when you reach the wash and head west on Eagle Wash Road. After a few hundred yards take a left onto Place Cove Road (Fig. 02), and follow it all the way to Place Cove (Fig. 04).

(Fig. 03)

(Fig. 04)

General Description: The area referred to as Nelson’s Landing is located about 10 miles beyond the town of Nelson on the northern shore of the Colorado River. Nelson's Landing is most noted for a flash flood that washed a small settlement and a group of campers into Lake Mohave in 1974. There are three major washes that run from the local mountains toward the river. The problem is that they all converge into a small outlet called Nelson's Landing. The entire landing was destroyed and nine people died when a wall of water and debris, reported to be about 30 feet high, reached the river. Read details about this flood on the following reference page ... Ref - 1974 Flood at Nelsons Landing. View the slide show at the end for more river views. Hiking in either direction provides some spectacular overlooks of the Colorado River. The best thing about this area is that it provides you with the opportunity to walk along and actually stick your feet into the Colorado River. Taking the drive on Place Cove Road over to another cove provides for a better beach and opportunities to dive off one of the adjacent cliffs into the water.

09/19/2015 Trip Notes: This was my forth visit to Nelson’s Landing on a trip with my brother Tommy. However, after looking on a Google Earth map of the area and some more research, I discovered the nearby cove of Place Cove (Fig. 04). After a short couple of miles on the fairly well graded dirt road, the view of the cove comes into view (Fig. 05). As we approached the beach we were amazed at how many people were here (Fig. 06). Many people were prepared for a day on the river with sun tents, gas grills and water craft. It was obvious that another one of the attractions was jumping off the 25-foot cliff located on the right side of the beach (Figs. 07 & 08). Much better than the beach at Nelson’s Landing, I’m glad that I found this cove and will definitely visit her again.

(Fig. 05)

(Fig. 06)

(Fig. 07) (Fig. 08)

06/29/2011 Trip Notes: On this visit, I brought Jim Herring and his friend Patrick after a tour of the Techatticup Mine Tour at Eldorado Canyon. Here are some more landscape pictures taken at Nelsons Landing ... Landscape pictures at Nelsons Landing.                                                   (Fig. 09) (Fig. 10) 02/17/2011 Trip Notes: This was my I first visit to Nelson’s Landing on a daytrip with the rock-hounds from the Heritage Park Senior Facility after a stop at the Techatticup Mining Camp. Since then I have returned for four additional visits to this area, twice for the mine tours of the Techatticup Mine. Whenever I visit the mining camp, I always make it a point to continue down to Nelson's Landing at the river for some solitude time with nature (Figs. 11-13).

(Fig. 11)

(Fig. 12)

(Fig. 13)

(OPTION 1) Each show is designed to run automatically in place, without leaving the current browser window. If the show is not already running, just click the large "Play" button in the middle of the picture and let it run.                               (OPTION 2) Running the cursor over the picture being shown will PAUSE the show and bring up a navigation bar at the bottom of the slideshow window with Pause, Forward and Back buttons, allowing you to start, stop or manually forward or back up pictures one at a time.

Slideshow Description: The slideshow above contains 16 pictures that were taken at Nelson's Landing.

Eldorado Canyon and Nelson Nevada

{Click on any image to view full size, then use the back button on your browser to return to this page}
This page last updated on 06/06/2018

(Fig. 01)

Directions: Take I-93 from Las Vegas towards Boulder City. Take the exit for I-95 south and continue for approximately 10 miles and turn left (east) onto NV SR-165. Continue for approximately 3.6 miles and turn right (south) onto a power lined dirt road. There will be a gate, which may be closed but not locked. The are several OHV dirt roads that lead from this parking/staging area in various directions (Fig. 02). The main ATV trail to Nelson heads south, somewhat paralleling NV-165.

(Fig. 02)

(Fig. 03)

Area Description: Eldorado Canyon is one of the most accessible scenic areas in Southern Nevada. After turning onto NV SR-165, the road climbs about 11 miles into a little pass at Nelson (Fig. 02). Following a major wash with unusual eroded rock monoliths as it winds down through Eldorado Canyon another seven miles to a viewpoint (Nelson’s Landing) overlooking the Colorado River. Nelson's Landing once served the sturdy little steamboats that plied the river. For some 40 years, steamboats putting in at Nelson's Landing provided a lifeline for the remote mining camp and surrounding mines before there were highways and long before dams harnessed the river's flow. Click here for pictures and more info on ... Nelsons Landing & Place Cove - Summary Page. As the road nears the river, it enters the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The desert area west of NV SR-165 (Fig. 02) offers endless ATV trails with plenty of steep and challenging hill climbs (Figs. 01 & 04), some dry river washes, twisting rock formations and several small canyons. Once you reach Nelson, a tiny remnant of a once-thriving boomtown, you are immediately transported back in time.

(Fig. 04)

Area History: The area surrounding Nelson and Eldorado Canyon was first home to the ancient Ancient Puebloan Indians, and later the Paiutes and Mojave tribes until they were intruded upon in 1775 by the Spaniards in their constant quest for gold. Founding a small settlement at the mouth of the Colorado River, they called it Eldorado. However, these early Spaniards somehow missed the rich gold veins just beneath the canyon’s flanks, finding silver instead. They soon found that the silver was not in high enough quantities to justify their operations, and moved on. When American explorers finally reached the area, prospectors soon followed. By the 1860’s, promising claims drew many miners to the canyon. Soon the Techatticup Mine and other nearby mines employed about 300 men in unruly camps that were far from the reach of the law. In the years prior to 1909, the district was part of Lincoln County, whose sheriff was headquartered at Pioche, nearly 300 miles away by horseback, and offered no protection. As a result the town of Nelson was a quite lawless. Eventually, order had to be kept by federal troops, who came up the river from Fort Mohave in Arizona Territory and deployed for a while at their own camp. Discoveries in the late 1850’s to the mid-1860’s led to a mining boom that resulted in the removal of millions of dollars in gold, silver, copper and lead ore over the next century. Nelson grew up during these boom years. It is named for Charles Nelson, a prospector who was killed by the renegade Avote, one of two native murderers who preyed on lone victims over a period of years. The fear-inspiring outlaw in the area was named Queho. Today, Nelson is all but a ghost town with a population of about thirty-seven people (2010 census). With no open businesses, the town marks its past with a few weathered sheds, small shacks with corrugated metal siding (Figs. 05 & 06), and rusting machinery parts. Those few residents that remain mostly live in a smattering of modern buildings and mobile homes. Though it’s hard to imagine today, in the 1880s Nelson and the 10-mile Eldorado Canyon was called home to more people than the entire Las Vegas valley. As you drive south from Nelson, the road begins a twisting drive through the canyon, providing dramatic views of rugged rock walls and stone formations, pocked with holes and tailings from its old mining days. Within just a few miles you will come to the infamous Techatticup Mine. Click here for pictures and information on this mine … Techatticup Mining Camp. 09/19/2015 Trip Notes: On 09/19/2015 I decided to rent a jeep and drive to Eldorado Canyon and the town of Nelson in search of old gold and silver mines. After reaching Nelson we proceeded to the area behind the town to the Black Hawk and Carnation mines. After exploring the various mines, shafts and audits in this area we ended up at the Techatticup Mining Camp for a tour of the old Techatticup gold mine. Click here for pictures of today’s trip … Nelson Nevada Mines.

(Fig. 05) (Fig. 06)

11/28/2014 Trip Notes: After unloading the quads at the parking/staging area (Fig. 02) near the power lines off NV-165, we picked a trail and headed out across the desert in the direction of Nelson (Fig. 07). As you can see from our route in yellow on (Fig. 02) we ended up doing a lot of “zig-zaging” and backtracking (Fig. 01 and 08) due to the fact that we reached a couple of steep hills that we could not maneuver because one of the quads did not have 4WD. After nearly two hours of riding, including some stops for water and snacking (Fig. 09), we entered the large sand wash just north of Nelson (upper right of (Fig. 03)). While driving down this wash I spotted a large sandston outcrop on its eastern ridge that contained a small arch (Fig 10). Upon reaching the town proper, we drove through slowly taking in some of the properties (Figs. 06 & 11) that lined Eldorado Street, the town's main drag. Heading west, out of town, we came to what was the main mining area that made up the Eldorado Mining District. (see the section below titled, Background on the Eldorado Mining District) This general area contains no less and a dozen mine sites; some which appeared to be still active. One could literally spend an entire day here hiking around and exploring these many sites. We decided to stop here for lunch as we explored two of the larger mine sites (refer to Fig. 03); the Black Hawk Mine (Fig. 12) and the Carnation Mine (Fig. 13). After spending a couple of hours here we followed a wash trail (refer to Fig. 02) back to the power line road and eventually back to our starting point. Once we reached the power lines (Fig. 14), we were afforded a views of the 10-megawatt Sempra Generation Energy plant (Fig. 15), the largest solar photovoltaic facility in Eldorado Valley and the largest thin-film solar-powered project in North America. The El Dorado Energy Solar project, located adjacent to the company’s existing 480-megawatt, gas-fired El Dorado Energy power plant, involved the installation of more than 167,000 solar modules on 80 acres of leased desert property designated as part of Boulder City’s energy zone. Sempra Generation has a 20-year power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric, the utility serving northern and central California, for the new project’s entire output.

(Fig. 07)

(Fig. 08)

(Fig. 09)

(Fig. 10)

(Fig. 11)

(Fig. 12)

(Fig. 13)

(Fig. 14)

(Fig. 15)

Background on Eldorado Mining District: Originally called the Colorado Mining District, it was later referred to as the Eldorado Canyon and Nelson District. The first real discovery in the area was at the Honest Miner, a small deposit about two miles west of Nelson. For a few years, the miners were able to keep their gold find a relative secret due to the remoteness of the area. However, this all changed in 1858 when the first steamboats began to make their way up the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. Before long, word spread and miners began to flood the area. The early history of the district saw construction of a mill at Nelson’s Landing where steamboats provided access for supplies and communication with the world. In the early 1900s Nelson’s Landing was one of the largest ports on the Colorado River and became even more important during prohibition in the 1920’s as bootleggers ran their white lightning into Arizona. At the time of the Eldorado mining District's organization this area was in New Mexico territory, later to become part of Arizona territory and eventually part of Nevada. It has been estimated that production of the district prior to 1897 may have been over 100,000 ounces, most of which came from the Techatticup Mine, just a few miles south of Nelson, where ore grades were several ounces of gold per ton. At today's prices that would equate to nearly $5,000,000 dollars. The principal mine producers have been the Techatticup, Duncan, Wall Street, Rand and Carnation mines. Other smaller producers included the Magnolia, Poppy, Jubilee and Crown mines. Vanderburg reported that production from El Dorado from 1907 to 1935 was $1.6 million, nearly all from lode gold and silver mines. Bullion shipments from El Dorado were not well recorded. As might be expected, shipments were not made by the normal express company system that was typical of the Mother Lode and Comstock regions. They were made privately, hence a distinct lack of reporting. At least two early shipments were recorded. In June, 1864, it was reported that 101 pounds of bullion went to Los Angeles, and in December, 1865, it was reported that $20,000 in bullion had arrived in San Francisco creating quite a stir. At today’s prices that one shipment would have been more than $270,000. In recent years there has been steady production from the Mocking Bird mine and significant "heap leach" production from the Wall Street mine from 1974-1984 by Consolidated Eldorado Mining Company and Intermountain Exploration Company.

(Fig. 16)

Landscape Pictures at Nelson’s Landing

{Click on an image to enlarge, then use the back button to return to this page}
This page last updated on 04/08/2018

Today, Nelson's Landing, is merely a stretch of land at the end of a steep dry wash located about 16 miles upstream from Cottonwood Cove on the Nevada side of the banks of the Colorado River. There is no launch ramp, as the name might lead you to believe. It’s accessible by a paved road that takes you within a half mile of the river, after which it turns into a dirt road that continues to within a few hundred yards of the river’s edge as shown in the photos below.

Nearly 40 years ago the area known as Nelson's Landing was a small boat launch and village located near the banks of the River. In 1974, a strong downpour in the regional mountains sent the runoff down five wide channels that converge into this small outlet, producing a flash flood that washed nearly everything into the river. The entire landing and village was destroyed and nine people lost their lives when the flood came through the wash. The wall of water and debris was reported as about 40 feet high as it reached the river.

Return to ... Nelsons Landing & Place Cove - Summary Page.

Ref - 1974 Flood at Nelsons Landing

{Click on an image to enlarge, then use the back button to return to this page}
This page last updated on 06/05/2018

(Fig. 01)

History: It is very difficult to pin down when the area known as Nelsons Landing was first coined. Back in 1775 when the Spaniards discovered gold in this area, it was known as Eldorado. Back before the Colorado river was dammed up, the mouth of the canyon on the river became a steamboat landing used as a spot for steamboats who plied their way up and down the river delivering supplies for the mining camps in the area. This appears that it was created around 1861, the time of the gold rush to the area that created several mining camps and was originally coined Colorado City. After the building of the dam, Colorado City is now a ghost town located under Lake Mohave at the mouth of Eldorado Canyon. The largest mining community at the head of the canyon became called Nelson after Charles Nelson, a camp leader was slain in his home, along with four other people, in 1897 by the the renegade Indian, Avote. After the railroad came to searchlight, the town of Nelson was born near the head of the canyon nearest the road to the railroad, the post office of Eldorado was closed on August 31, 1907 and moved to Nelson. Over time the whole area from the town of Nelson all the way to the river became referred to as Nelson. The specific area known today as Nelsons Landing is about five miles east of Nelson at the downstream end of Eldorado Canyon and was established as a village and landing established on the Colorado River reservoir.

Description: The approach to the former site of the small recreational settlement of Nelsons Landing Marina and Resort is on a paved road the descends down, paralleling the Techatticup Wash. The picture in (Fig. 01) was taken in 2011 on a visit to Nelsons Landing area. Once you leave the paved road, you follow a well graded paved road down into the wash to a parking area that prevents you from driving to the mouth of the canyon at the river's edge. To reach the water you have to hike several hundred yards down the wash (Fig. 03). As you can see from these pictures, the cemented alluvial fan gravels in the canyon walls form a narrow slot through which the entire runoff from the canyon must run. The Eldorado drainage basin is comprised of three washes: Techatticup Wash on the north, Eldorado Canyon, and Eagle Wash on the south (Fig. 03). These three canyons merge into one major channel about one mile west of Nelsons Landing. The view in (Fig. 04) shows the town and marina prior to the flood. Place cove is shown west of the town on the picture. (con't below)
                                                   

(Fig. 02)

(Fig. 03)

(Fig. 04)

The Flood: On Saturday, September 14, 1974, a torrential storm that brought an unusual cloudburst
of rain over Eldorado Valley and moved southeast to Nelson. In one hour it provided half the annual precipitation for the area. Waters from the 22-square mile area (Fig. 3), the Eagle and Techatticup washes joined those of Eldorado Canyon in a narrow channel only a few thousand feet west of Nelsons Landing. Survivors reported that heavy hail fell for 15 minutes. The recorded 3.12 inches of rain created a floodwater that reached 20 to 30 feet at the narrowest point in the channel. It carried mostly gravel sized debris and a few boulders up to 4 feet in diameter. The result was that the flood demolished the small settlement and carried most of the town into Lake Mohave.

The muddy torrent crushed the restaurant, grocery store, and bar in about five seconds. Forty one people escaped in time, but nine others drowned. The 22-foot high wave of water and debris carried 38 vehicles, 23 boats, boat slips, trailers, cabins, the restaurant, and a store into the lake. 31 homes were damaged or carried into the lake. Pictures (Figs. 05 & 06) show some of the damaged homes that weren't carried into the lake.
                           

(Fig. 05)

(Fig. 06)

A geologist reading the rocks along the sides of the canyon, where there is cemented debris from many past floods, would have known that this would be a prime location for such an event. Ironically, a year prior to this flood, the National Park Service had warned the inhabitants of Nelsons Landing of the danger of living in this narrow canyon.
                                       

Return to ... Nelsons Landing & Place Cove - Summary Page.