Q: Where exactly is Black Canyon, anyway? ​A: Which one? I found four Black Canyons in Arizona Names, X Marks the Spot, which is a really swell book, by the way. In fact, there are about six pages of “Black” names in there.

At the peak of its prosperity, the fabled Bradshaw Moun­tains of central Arizona produced a king's ransom in gold and silver. Towns and mines with picturesquely whimsical names like Bueno, Turkey Creek, Tiger, Tip Top, Oro Belle and Big Bug were peopled with boisterous devil-may-care miners aptly described as unmarried, unchurched and unwashed. Each community ...