[3] However, in 1993 The Nature Conservancy bought 160 acres (65 ha) of private land, including the lake, in order to protect it; the U.S.

[6] In the late 19th century, a mining company called Rose Valley Borax bought the springs and the land around it.

The borax salts emanating from the springs had collected on the surface and formed a low dome a 1 mile (1.6 km) across.

Wagons pulled by mule teams delivered the borax to a railway terminal in Winnemucca, Nevada.

He estimated the total accumulation of borates from Borax Lake and another nearby hot springs at about 150 short tons (140 t) a year.