El Dorado Canyon, Natural canyon in Clark County, Nevada, United States

El Dorado Canyon is a natural valley with steep rock walls that stretch across a considerable distance and create natural pathways. These trails lead toward Nelson's Landing at the Colorado River, with different levels and recesses structuring the landscape.

Prospecting in El Dorado Canyon was underway by 1857, when Captain George Alonzo Johnson named the canyon; the silver, gold and copper lodes were found by John Moss and others, news of which spread in April 1861. Johnson's steamboats supplied the mines more cheaply than wagons crossing the Mohave Desert, and miners flooded into the Colorado Mining District that fall. Camps such as San Juan, Alturas, Louisville and Lucky Jim grew, and Camp El Dorado guarded the mouth from 1867 to 1869.

The canyon's name comes from the steamboat captain George Alonzo Johnson, who named it in 1857. The Techatticup Mine, one of the oldest and most productive in the canyon, is midway down and offers tours. The town of Nelson lies in the upper reach, near the site of the early San Juan camp.

Access is via unpaved roads that require off-road capable vehicles and can make driving challenging. Visitors should bring ample water supplies since desert heat is intense and shade is limited.

The canyon holds the remains of stamp mills from the 1800s that were used to process precious metals and are still visible today. These industrial remnants offer a window into the mining techniques of earlier periods.