White Hills

History

In 1892, Henry Shaffer discovered silver deposits in the area, with the help of local Native Americans. The resulting mining efforts led to the creation of the town of White Hills, which reportedly grew to a population of 1,500. The mines consisted of of tunnels, and a full fifteen mines were being worked within one mile (1.6 km) of the town. In 1894, the White Hills Mining Company was formed to run the operations, but they sold out in 1895 for a price of $1,500,000. The new owners, part of an English company, constructed a 40-stamp mill in the town. However, water had to be piped in from away, and the supply was never able to meet the mine and mill's demands. Production peaked in 1898, and soon after the mill began operating only half of the time. The town went into decline, and eventually became a ghost town. White Hills received media attention in 2014 when Charles Vacca, a shooting instructor, was accidentally shot and killed by a 9-year-old girl at a local gun range. In 2020, NextEra Energy began construction of a long-planned 127-turbine wind farm in the White Hills area, with initial power output expected by the end of the year. Southern California Clean Power Alliance has a 20-year power purchase agreement for 300 megawatts from the wind farm.

Geography

White Hills is in northwestern Mohave County, in the Detrital Valley and at the base of the White Hills, which rise to the east. U.S. Route 93 runs through the west side of the CDP, leading southeast to Kingman, the Mohave county seat, and northwest to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-throated Sparrow

  Amphispiza bilineata (Cassin, 1850) · Aves
  684
• Gambel's Quail

  Callipepla gambelii (Gambel, 1843) · Aves
  637
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  528
• Curve-billed Thrasher

  Toxostoma curvirostre (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  526
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  482
• Cactus Wren

  Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus (Lafresnaye, 1835) · Aves
  427
• Larrea tridentata (DC.) Coult.

  Larrea tridentata (DC.) Coult. · Magnoliopsida
  378
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  339

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2025-06-05
  24 km ENE of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
• M 3.4 — 2025-05-27
  31 km S of Scenic, Arizona
• M 3.8 — 2025-05-17
  31 km SSE of Bunkerville, Nevada
• M 2.5 — 2025-05-16
  30 km S of Scenic, Arizona
• M 2.9 — 2025-04-30
  30 km S of Scenic, Arizona
• M 2.7 — 2025-04-30
  32 km SSE of Bunkerville, Nevada