The mining district lay directly east of town, and covered a wide expanse. Dozens of mine
shafts, all properly fenced to mark them, dot this landscape.
Even though each shaft was fenced, the proximity of these shafts to town (those are the downtown buildings in the picture below) makes them attractive nuisances to the foolish resident or visitor, and statewide the mineshaft problem is a significant one: they can be and much too often they are deadly.
The short distance between the mines and the town was a blessing to the resident miners of course, since traveling in this hot desolate country was never a picnic.
