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Home > Bay Curious > The Mercury Mine That Built a Boomtown Near San Jose
Podcast: Bay Curious
Episode:

The Mercury Mine That Built a Boomtown Near San Jose

Category: Society & Culture
Duration: 00:22:04
Publish Date: 2026-03-26 10:00:00
Description:

Before Silicon Valley, before the Valley of Heart’s Delight, the hills south of San Jose were home to one of the world’s richest mercury mines: New Almaden. Its quicksilver powered the California Gold Rush, but today, few traces of those boom boom days remain, other than the toxic legacy still circulating in the San Francisco Bay. In today's episode we answer three listener questions about the mine and it's history.

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This story was reported by Rachael Myrow. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

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