Camp Verde Salt Mine

Past Producer in Yavapai county in Arizona, United States with commodities Halite, Sodium, Gypsum-Anhydrite, Clay
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Land status
  14. Links to other databases
  15. Bibliographic references
  16. General comments
  17. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10062403
MRDS ID TC35800
Record type Site
Current site name Camp Verde Salt Mine
Alternate or previous names Graham Wingfield Sulphate
Related records 10162117

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -111.87462, 34.54505 (WGS84)
Relative position ABOUT 1.5 MI SW OF CAMP VERDE.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Yavapai(county)

Arizona(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Camp Verde(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Sedona(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Holbrook(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Lower Verde(hydrologic unit)

Verde(hydrologic accounting unit)

Salt(hydrologic subregion)

Lower Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Prescott National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Arizona Yavapai

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Gila and Salt River 013N 004E 01 Arizona

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Halite Primary
Sodium Primary
Gypsum-Anhydrite Tertiary
Clay Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Clay Ore
Gypsum Ore
Halite Ore
Mirabilite Ore

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Lake Sediments
    Rock unit name Verde Formation
    Rock description Verde Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Holocene
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Evaporite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -111.87462, 34.54505

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Verde Fault Zone

Ore body information

  • Thickness 14.02M

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE VERDE FM CONSISTS OF AT LEAST 1600 FT OF SEDIMENTS THAT ACCUMULATED IN A BASIN FORMED DURING THE OLIGOCENE, POSSIBLY AS A RESULT OF MOVEMENT ALONG THE VERDE FAULT ZONE. DURING THE MIOCENE, THE DRAINAGE THROUGH THE SOUTH END OF THE BASIN WAS BLOCKED BY VOLCANICS RESULTING IN A CLOSED BASIN WHERE A SALINE-ALKALINE LAKE FORMED. THE EVAPORITES WERE EXPOSED WHEN THE VERDE RIVER BREACHED THE VOLCANICS DURING THE PLEISTOCENE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Significant No
Year of first production 1492
Production years PRE-COLUMBIAN, 1920'S-1933

Land status

Ownership category
Area name Prescott National Forest

Comments on the workings information

  • WORK IN THE 1920'S WAS BY SURFACE METHODS. IN THE 1930'S, AMERICAN CHEMICAL CORPORATION BEGAN MINING BY ROOM AND PILLAR.

Comments on development

  • THIS DEPOSIT HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR 2000 YEARS AND MAY BE THE OLDEST MINE IN ARIZONA. EVIDENCE OF PRE-COLUMBIAN ACTIVITY, INCLUDING ARTIFACTS AND THE REMAINS OF A MINER, WERE DISCOVERED WHEN THE MINE WAS OPERATED DURING THE 1920'S. THE MINE IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN VISITED BY EXPLORERS ANTONIO DE ESPEJO IN 1583 AND MARCOS FARFAN DE LOS GODOS IN 1598. WESTERN CHEMICAL CO. BEGAN SURFACE MINING OPERATIONS DURING THE 1920'S AND WAS ACQUIRED BY THE ARIZONA CHEMICAL CORPORATION IN THE 1930'S. EXPLORATION BY STAUFFER CHEMICAL CO IN THE 1960'S.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    PHILLIPS, K.A., 1987, ARIZONA INDUSTRIAL MINERALS: ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES REPORT 4, 185 P.

  • Deposit

    EYDE, TED, WILKINSON, P.A.K., AND WEILAND, E.F., 1986, FIELD TRIP TO SELECTED INDUSTRIAL MINERAL DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA, IN BEATTY, BARBARA, AND WILKINSON, P.A.K., EDS., FRONTIERS IN GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF ARIZONA AND THE SOUTHWEST: ARIZONA GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY DIGEST, V. XVI, P. 312-318.

  • Other Database

    CIMRI

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THIS RECORD CONTAINS DATA FROM DUPLICATE RECORD TC38872 WHICH HAS BEEN DELETED FROM MRDS.
Deposit THE EVAPORITE SEQUENCE WHICH CONSISTS OF HALITE, MIRABILITE AND GLAUBERITE IS AS MUCH AS 46 FT THICK AT THIS SITE. THE SEQUENCE GRADES INTO GYPSUM AND HALITE IN THE DEEPER PART OF THE BASIN SOUTHEAST OF CAMP VERDE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-MAR-1993 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 19-SEP-1994 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Authoritative Arizona resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.