These interesting structures are ‘bee hive kilns’ are found in Death Valley National Park and were used to create charcoal for smelting ore that was found locally. (This was back in the early 1900’s)
They are found high in the mountains where there were pines growing to make satisfactory charcoal. Unfortunately, the pines are very slow growing (not much water), and the trees that you see in the background are junipers that have taken the place of the pines. The claims ran out or became too expensive to work to justify the costs of working in such an inhospitable environment. The kilns were left, along with the destruction of the pine forest for miles around.
Very interesting! Destruction of the environment is sad.
Yes. Especially sensitive environments like Death Valley.
The good news was that the precious metal deposits were small.