Nelson is on the Nevada side of the Colorado River about 16 miles north of Cottonwood Cove by water. It is a common misconception that Nelson is on the Nevada side of Lake Mojave[citation needed], but in fact Nelson is upstream by about 16 miles. Nelson is about 25 miles from Boulder City by road. One of the biggest mining booms in state history occurred near here, in the El Dorado Canyon. Gold and silver were discovered here around 1859.

In its heyday, the area established a reputation for being rough and lawless. During the American Civil War, deserters from both the Union and Confederate armies would wander there, hoping that such an isolated location would be the last place military authorities would look for them.

Nelson’s Landing, about five miles west in Eldorado Canyon, is noted for washing into Lake Mohave in 1974 after a strong downpour in the regional mountains sent the runoff down the channels and produced a flash flood. There are five wide channels that run from the local mountains toward the river. The problem is that they all converge into a small outlet where Nelson’s Landing was. The entire landing and village was destroyed and nine people died when the flood came through the wash. The wall of water and debris was reported as about 40 feet (12 meters) high as it reached the river.
Much of the town of Nelson, which was not impacted by the 1974 flood, remains today and is located way up the wash, away from the flood channels. The sparsely populated town consists mainly of privately owned ranch houses, and a river and mining tour business housed in a former Texaco gas station that has been used as a filming location for several feature films, including 3000 Miles to Graceland.

[View with PicLens]