Abandoned Record
About Saltus
Saltus is an abandoned mining town in San Bernardino County in the Mojave Desert that supported salt mining and evaporating in the Bristol Dry Lake Bed.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Saltus, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.
Map
Where Saltus is
Historic maps
8 historic USGS maps cover Saltus
Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.
- 1942 Amboy sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1943 Amboy sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1954 Needles sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1956 Cadiz sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1956 Needles sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1981 Needles sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1985 Amboy sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1985 Amboy sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
Directions
Getting there
Before you go
- Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
- Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
- Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.
Nearby
Other sites near Saltus
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our California index.
Sources
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Saltus, California": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q122546714.
- USGS GNIS 1661371.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).