Pozos, founded in 1576, was blessed with deep seams of gold and silver and became one of the richest of the colonial mining towns in the area, reaching its peak about 1890.

The ruins of four abandoned mines, two with ex-haciendas, can be seen in the Pozos area: Ex-Hacienda Cinco Señores, Ex-Hacienda Augustias, San Baldomero, and Santa Brigida. Since all four mine sites are abandoned with open mine shafts & crumbling ruins, they can be dangerous. Visit at your own risk or better still, use a local guide who likely has total access to all the sites. Check the official Pozos web site for guide information: http://www.mineraldepozos.com/ For a complete history of Pozos & a lot of background information, refer to the home page on that web site. Another interesting web site you can check: http://www.showcaves.com/english/mx/mines/Pozos.html

Access to at least two of the sites on the west side of town is restricted (Augustias is one). The Santa Brigida mine east of town, the oldest one, can be visited without permit or guide, at least so far. If you visit, please respect the site, take nothing but pictures & leave nothing but footprints.

The other 3 mines are on the hillsides west of town. As one writer so aptly put it "The road winds up through a silent maze of shattered walls, towers, arches, galleries, massive roofless buildings, aqueducts and fallen masonry, all strung out across the bare slopes like some vast scene of medieval destruction." Online photos of these mines are scarce or non-existent, therefore, I'm not sure which mine is which. Because I've seen at least one photo of it, I can identify the restricted Augustias mine, but I'm not sure about the other two. I am guessing that the fenced-off, restricted mine closest to the road is the Cinco Senores (five men) mine, and the mine ruins seen in the distance beyond Cinco Senores likely belong to the San Baldomero mine. We didn't check these last ruins except take pix from a distance. I'm not sure how/where one gains access to them except perhaps with a local guide. We were able to take pix of the Cinco Senores complex from the road.

The access road to the extensive Augustias mine ruins is further down the road, but there are now barriers across the access road & perimeter that severely limit easy access from the main road. I suspect this is to prevent vandalism & theft. The ruins are barely visible from the road. This is one mine site that should be visited with a local guide & would be well worth the expense & time. We managed to scramble over the barrier & were able to take some wonderful pix there. If you do the same, be careful, and please respect the site.

Be sure to check my other Pozos photo journal on the town: http://www.worldisround.com/articles/94008/index.html

You should also check daughter Carol wonderful journal of the San Miguel area which includes pix of Pozos: http://www.worldisround.com/articles/36213/index.html

All of my journals from this trip can be found at: http://www.worldisround.com/browse/NorthAmerica/Mexico/Guanajuato/