Panamint City was founded in the 1870s following the discovery of silver in Surprise Canyon, located on the west side of the Panamint Range in eastern California. Built in the upper portion of the canyon at an elevation of about 6200 feet, the town eventually included mills, saloons, stores, a cemetery, a post office, its own newspaper, and even a red light district. The population of the town reached 2000 in 1874, but only two years later, on July 24, 1876, a flash flood washed the town away. Mining continued on and off in Surprise Canyon until the 1980s when another flash flood wiped out a key section of the road to Panamint City. During its heyday, the town had a reputation of being lawless and in order to discourage thieves from stealing the silver produced from the mines, it was formed into 450-pound cannonballs before being transported over 200 miles to Los Angeles.

IMAGES: Panamint City