Panamint City in California’s Panamint Mountains had a population of 2,000 at the height of its silver mining boom in 1874. The settlement began when outlaws hiding from the law discovered silver in Surprise Canyon and gave up their life of crime. According to the National Park Service (NPS), the boom was over by the fall of 1875, and a flash flood in 1876 destroyed most of the settlement, leaving only remnants of its former life. The ruins of old Panamint City were added to the park in October 1994. Its old smelter chimney remained as the most prominent reminder of the town that once drew 2,000 people to the mountains.
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