Arizona’s abandoned mining towns are packed with eerie beauty, Wild West history, and the kind of quiet that stays with you.

Travelers — many inspired by Jacob Waltz — headed to Arizona in search of gold. The Superstition Mountains loom in the background of a historical marker honoring their route. (Joe Duhownik/Courthouse ...

While prospecting along the Hassayampa River in October 1863, Henry Wickenburg and several associates discovered a gold-bearing quartz outcrop 500 feet long, 400 feet wide and 100 feet tall.