Charcoal's Role in Nevada Mining and Forest History: Charcoal Pits

Abstract

Abstract: Charcoal production was a critical adjunct to Nevada's mining industry. It fueled smelters that processed complex gold and silver mineral ores of central and eastern Nevada and was produced in stone and brick charcoal kilns and earthen-covered charcoal pits. Both methods burned wood in a low oxygen environment to obtain a pure carbon residue, i.e., charcoal. The most common production method was in charcoal pits—earth-covered mounds of wood that produced charcoal in quantities far exceeding that produced in kilns. There is still evidence of many thousands of charcoal pits scattered throughout much of Nevada. Beyond the direct evidence of the remains of charcoal kilns and pits, the broader ecological impact of charcoal making in the late 19th century Nevada left its marks on today's landscape. The depletion of Nevada's limited forest resources, especially the destruction of the pinyon-juniper woodlands, driven in no small degree by charcoal production, altered vegetation patterns in terms of forest regrowth, the advance of sagebrush lands, habitat for wildlife, and vulnerability to catastrophic fire.