Most of the ore deposits of the Manhattan district are gold-bearing veins of a simple type and present no unusual features, but other ores inclosed in a single thin bed of limestone offer interesting problems.

Manhattan is situated in the southern part of the northeasterly trending Toquima Range, about 35 miles north of Tonopah. The Toquima Range is one of the less prominent of the many narrow, isolated mountain ranges which are such notable features of the Great Basin topography. The range is bordered by desert valleys—Ralston Valley and Monitor Valley on the east and Big Smoky Valley on the west. On both sides, but particularly on the west, the boundary between rock in place and valley fill is irregular, in marked contrast to the sharp lines of demarcation on the eastern front of the Toyabe Range, which borders Big Smoky Valley on the west.