The Riverview(Eureka)Mine, Imperial Wildlife Refuge, La Paz County Arizona

 

 

The Riverview Mine is located northwest of Yuma Arizona on the Colorado River about three miles downstream from California's Picacho State Recreation Area campground. Aptly named, the operation was just a few hundred yards from the river.

The website www.mindat.org reports that the Riverview(Eureka) mine began operation around 1875 and over the years had a production of 150 tons of ore containing Lead, Zinc, Silver and Gold. The mine workings include a shaft which appears to have recently been "bat grated", and several open cuts. Down the hillside from the shaft, are a wooden bin, a concrete foundation that may have supported a small stamp mill and a couple of cement pads.

The major attraction at the site is an old mine cabin that may date back to the mine's earliest days. It is a one-room stone building with a brush thatched roof. There are a variety of metallic relics around the cabin including several car parts. The only sign of a road in the area is one from the mine shaft down to the concrete pads at the bottom of the hill. There is no evidence of any road away from the mine to an outside location. Could a vehicle have been brought in by boat or raft and it spent its life shuttling ore the few hundred yards from the mine down to a mill site?

The most practical way to visit the mine is by boat off the river. I walked in from the Red Cloud Mine Road approximately 7 miles to the northwest. I used sections of a couple of old exploration roads, sand washes and wild donkey trails to access the lower Arrastra Wash. Once at the river, I then traveled eastward along a bench above the river. It was a very strenuous walk! While I was at the mine, a River Tour Boat pulled in. The folks spent about a half hour walking around the cabin and then were on their way. They did not go up to the actual mine area. I have also read of people coming down to the site in their kayaks from the Picacho campground.

Almost directly across the river from the Riverview mine is the St.Joseph's(Golden Dream Mine). I walked into that mine in 2010. While there are no standing buildings at that mine, there are a couple of trucks and some gold processing machinery. My photos and report of that trip can be seen here.

Click on Photos to enlarge:

 

   

 

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