Click on Image for Great Sierra Lode High Resolution Selection Image
Located along the Sierra Crest, the Great Sierra Mine was to be the next Comstock lode.
To extract the silver and gold, the precursor of the Tioga Pass road
was done; a tunnel over 1000 feet (305 meters) deep was drilled in solid granite at 9850 feet (3000 meters);
and six loads of up to 4200 pounds (1905 kilograms) of equipment each
were hauled nine miles (14.3 kilometers), up 4000 feet (1220 meters), over an
11,300 foot (3447 meter) pass, for two months in the middle of winter at a cost of one life.
No significant silver or gold were ever recovered! Where could the
silver and gold veins be and
could only the view over the Yosemite high country justify this monumental effort?
The "Great Sierra Lode" image is part of the Sealth body of work which are digital images of landscapes, scenics,
and the human form and are based on locations in the Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park,
High Sierra, Eastern Sierra and Central Coast of California.
