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Carlin, Nevada

Carlin, Nevada
Carlin, Nevada

Carlin sits at the western edge of Elko County on the I-80. To the northest of town is the Carlin Trend, a geological formation that is one of the most productive gold mining spots in the U.S. The Carlin Trend (or Carlin Unconformity) represents the "meeting" place of two tectonic plates. There was a collision here about 350 million years ago between these 2 plates and the resulting heat caused hot springs to flow upward from deep in the Earth. These hot springs leached many different minerals in the ground out of the rock and concentrated them in the flow tubes that led to the surface. This particular gold-producing zone is about 5 miles wide and 40 miles long and has produced more gold than any other mining district in the U.S. The gold ore is not a high-quality ore so the method preferred by the mine operators around here is open pit mining and gold extraction using the cyanide heap leach method. 2 of the largest open pit gold mines on Earth are here.

Carlin was originally a favored campsite along the California Trail used by the 49ers during that gold rush (1849). Carlin was established as a railroad town in 1868 and until the 1950's, that was the principal business in town. Gold mining on the Carlin Trend didn't start until the 1960's, and didn't really take off until the 1980's.

Carlin Trend, Carlin, Nevada
Two of the big gold mines on the Carlin Trend
Fast Facts about Carlin, Nevada
Carlin, Elko County, NV 89822
Incorporated: 1925
Elevation: 4,905'
Latitude: 40.7142°N
Longitude: 116.1131°W
Resident Racial Breakdown:
White Non-Hispanic: 87.5%
Hispanic: 8.4%
Native American: 3.0%
Other: 3.8%
Two or More Races: 1.9%
Education:
High School or Higher: 81.6%
Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 8.5%
Graduate or Professional Degree: 1.5%
2009 Estimates:
Population: 2,119
Males: 1,104
Females: 1,015
Median Resident Age: 33.9 Years
Estimated Median Household Income: $76,250
Estimated Median Home Value: $206,903
Population Density: 230 People per Square Mile
2009 Cost of Living Index for Carlin: 82.1
Major Industries:
Mining, Lodging & Food Services, Construction, Educational Services, Truck Transportation, Retail Services, Entertainment & Recreation, Transportation Services, Government, Health Care
Unemployed: 7.1%
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Upper photo of Carlin, Nevada courtesy of Daniel Mayer, CCA ShareAlike 3.0 License.
Photo of the Carlin Trend courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management.
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