The word Almaden in Spanish implies "mineral" or "mine". During 1845, Andres Castillero found mercury deposit in the area now known as Almaden hills. In the past, the New Almaden Mine was the biggest mercury-producing mine in the Americas. (Almaden Dam and Reservoir) During that period, native Californians used to cover great distances for commercial gains. Regulated by the Quiroste tribelet, the Almaden mine was the main sources of mercury. To extract the cinnabar, a 100 foot long tunnel was built underground for extraction purposes. Rounded streambed cobbles were used as hammers, picks and mails. Skeletons and stone implements discovered close to the working face of the tunnel gives a pointer that there was an untimely cave-in. As against specialized Pomo Chert drill makers or Gabrieleqo soapstone pot designers, no specialized miner's class developers developed among the Quiroste working in these places. On the contrary the cinnabar mines seemingly worked for a considerably long period of time. In the bygone era, Almaden's growth was one which had the richest quicksilver mines in California with shafts going more than 2,300 feet under the ground. However the mines were shut down in 1972 because of the dangerous levels of toxicity of mercury found there. (Destinations: Native Californian Trails) Thesis Statement: Almaden Mines continues to be a reminder of a living quintessence of mineral rich quicksilver which has now transformed into a fledging Almaden Quicksilver Museum.
             New Almaden mine is situated 12 miles south of downtown San Jose, CA in the Capitancillo Hills of the Santa Cruz Mountain Range. Presently, Almaden's Boulevard, Avenue, Expressway, and Road everything takes the historic path between San Jose and New Almaden. The New Almaden Mines yielded mercury which was California's first mining operation way back in 1846. Till 1896, the Randol Shaft had a production quantity of $10 mill...