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Gold Reef

Ghost town · Esmeralda County, Nevada

Mud Lake quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1952, 1:62,500)
Mud Lake quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1952, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Gold Reef is a ghost town in Esmeralda County, Nevada. It is one of 30 former communities in Esmeralda County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 10th among the 17 Nevada counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Gold Reef as a historical populated place on the Mud Lake NW topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 37.9660° N, 117.2162° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleMud Lake NW
Elevation5,867 ft
Nearest living townTonopah, NV
Distance to it8 miles
GNIS feature ID846523
Coordinates37.96604, -117.21619

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What's there now

Gold Reef is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Tonopah, NV (population 1,938), about 8 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 5,867 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Gold Reef?

Gold Reef is in Esmeralda County, Nevada, at 37.9660, -117.2162.

How many ghost towns are in Esmeralda County?

Esmeralda County, Nevada has 30 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.