A hush is a deep gully or ravine formed by hushing, an early hydraulic mining technique. Miners dammed a stream above a suspected vein and then breached the dam, allowing the torrent to scour away the topsoil and loose rock. The resulting scars remain visible on hillsides long after the mining ceases, marking the exact path where the water stripped the ground down to bedrock.
We mapped the old lead veins by following the line of the hush up the valley side.
Hushes are highly recognizable features in historic lead mining districts, often looking like unnatural, straight ravines cutting across the contours of a hill.
Also heard as
- Hushing
- booming
Related terms
Costean
A shallow trench dug through soil and loose dirt to expose the underlying bedrock and mineral veins.
Bedrock
The solid, intact rock layer that lies beneath soil, gravel, and other loose surface materials.
Shoad
Loose fragments of ore found in soil or stream beds, used to trace a mineral vein back to its source.