Swansea | |
|---|---|
Community | |
 Site of the smelter in Swansea | |
  Swansea Location in California Show map of California Swansea Swansea (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:36°31′29″N117°54′14″W / 36.52472°N 117.90389°W /36.52472; -117.90389 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Inyo County |
| Elevation | 3,661 ft (1,116 m) |
Swansea is aformer settlement andunincorporated community inInyo County,California.[1] It is located 8.5 miles (14 km) south ofNew York Butte,[2] at an elevation of 3,661 ft (1,116 m).[1]
Swansea was a boomtown located on the eastern shore ofOwens Lake. Spawned by the success of the silver mining operations in the nearbyCerro Gordo Mines in the late 1860s, Swansea became a hub for smelting the ore and transporting the resulting ingots toLos Angeles, over 200 miles away. The smelter operated from 1869 to 1874.[2]
Swansea was named after the townSwansea in southWales, which was known as "Copperopolis" due to its large smelting industry from which many experienced extractive metallurgistsemigrated to theUnited States.
The1872 Lone Pine earthquake damaged the smelters and uplifted the shoreline, rendering the Swansea pier inaccessible by Owens Lake steamships. As a result, most of the smelting and transportation business moved toKeeler, approximately one mile to the south.
In the summer of 1874, a thunderstorm-induced debris flow inundated Swansea under several feet of water, rock, and sand.[3] By then the town had been almost deserted, and the debris flow marked the end of Swansea.
As of 2007, only one building and a smelter foundation remained alongsideCalifornia Route 136 (about 10 miles southeast ofLone Pine). The community is now a ghost town.
Municipalities and communities ofInyo County, California,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Indian reservations | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
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