Why have many small towns in the wild west of America failed?

In most parts of the west, towns are built around coal mines. Mining towns can only survive on borrowed time: either the ore will run out one day, or the metal price will fall to a low enough level to make the mine no longer profitable. Then the town lost its reason for existence. This is a lot of stories in the western United States: the economy is not based on agriculture. If you do well, agriculture can develop indefinitely, but in the development of resources, because the land can not maintain too much agriculture. When resources disappear, you can move on.

This often happens in the west, because in many areas, such as the Mojave Desert, precious metal ores are often found in relatively small areas and will be completely mined in a few years. Some places have no ore at all; Now two towns in Death Valley National Park, Lidfield and Greenwater, are thriving and dying under the influence of mining claims whose main purpose is to defraud shareholders. However, even those towns located in a large number of mineral deposits, such as Virginia, Nevada, located in the vein of the Grand Comstock silver mine, were finally mined.

1876 After the discovery of gold, Boddy in California prospered. By 1879, there were 10000 people living here (equivalent to the area of Los Angeles at that time). By 19 15, it was basically abandoned, although the post office and the last gold mine were not closed until 1942. This is what it looks like now (see Boddy SHP for details):1897, Berlin, Nevada was founded to mine gold and silver, but it was never as profitable as other regions. 1907 panic almost destroyed the city. It looks like this today (for more information, please refer to the Ichthyosaur National Historical Park in Berlin):

When gold was discovered, Leo Wright in Nevada was founded in 1904. Small towns have sprung up almost overnight, with hotels, schools, power plants and even ice cream shops. Then the panic of 1907 hit, the mine began to close, and the bank began to close down. By 19 16, it was abandoned. This is what it looks like now (see rhyolite ghost town-Death Valley National Park (National Park Service) for details):

This is not limited to the west. Rush, Arkansas was built around 1880, when zinc mines were discovered in the Ozark Mountains. 19 18 business was very good until the end of the first world war. Zinc is used to make brass and brass is used to make shell casings. After the war, the price of zinc plummeted, and the town gradually shrank and declined, although the post office was not closed until the 1950s. This is what it looks like now.