Pine Creek is a prominent canyon of glacial origin draining eastward from the Sierra Nevada outside Bishop, California. Metamorphic rocks, including tungsten-bearing marble, are exposed in the upper part of the canyon. The deposits were discovered during World War I, and—despite the exceedingly difficult access and often savage wintertime conditions—mining began right at the end of the war. Tungsten is a strategically significant metal, due to the extremely hard alloys it makes with steel. However, demand collapsed with the end of the war. The mine remained inactive through most of…
