When prospectors wandered the Nevada Desert, they looked for specific types and combinations of rock, and quartz in this vicinity often signaled the presence of gold, silver, or other metals that could mean a new strike. In 1900, Jim Butler found a silver-bearing quartz vein that led to the founding of Tonopah, one of Nevada's premier mining communities. Numerous other veins were found and exploited, with millions of dollars of silver and gold taken from the hills. Veins were followed underground, and eventually many of the mines were connected to each other through vast tunnel systems. Even so, not every vein was located or mined. Near this spot, several silver veins break the surface but were never exploited during the mining boom of the early twentieth century. Though small, these veins recall the work of thousands of men who searched for and mined precious metals in inhospitable desert country and in the process created many communities that continue to be part of Nevada today.