Burro Schmidt Tunnel
South entrance to the tunnel | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Kern County, California |
| Coordinates | 35°24.62′N 117°52.55′W / 35.41033°N 117.87583°W |
| Start | 1906 |
| End | 1938 |
| Technical | |
| Length | 0.5 mi (0.8 km) |
| Grade | |
Burro Schmidt's Tunnel | |
| Nearest city | Ridgecrest, California |
| Area | 11.5 acres (4.7 ha) |
| Built | 1906–1938 |
| Engineer | Schmidt, William Henry (Father) |
| Architectural style | Earthen tunnel |
| NRHP reference No. | 03000113 |
| Added to NRHP | March 20, 2003 |
The historical Burro Schmidt Tunnel is located in the El Paso Mountains of the northern Mojave Desert, in eastern Kern County, southern California.
It is a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) mining tunnel dug with hand tools and dynamite over a 38-year period by William "Burro" H. Schmidt (1871–1954). in the El Paso Mountains of eastern California.
The tunnel is below the summit of a 4,400-foot (1,300 m) mountain. Its southern adit (portal) overlooks the Fremont Valley, Koehn Dry Lake, and the ghost towns of Garlock and Saltdale.