New Idria was an unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 town in San Benito County, California

San Benito County, California

San Benito County is a county located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California, south of San Jose. As of 2010 the population was 55,269. The county seat is Hollister, which includes nearly two-thirds of the county's population. El Camino Real passes through the county and...

. It is named after a now-inoperative quicksilver

Mercury (element)

Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...

 mine of the same name. The mine itself was named in honor of the world's second largest quicksilver mine in Idrija

Idrija

Idrija is a small town and municipality in the Goriška region of Slovenia. It is known for its mercury mine and lace....

, Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

 (Slovene pronunciation [ĭdrija]; California English

California English

California English is a dialect of the English language spoken in California. California is home to a highly diverse population, which is reflected in the historical and continuing development of California English.-History:English was first spoken on a wide scale in the area now known as...

 pronunciation [īdria].) The town grew to support the mining operations, but the mine closed in the 1970s. The town is currently an abandoned ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 with more than 100 standing buildings, though vandalism has contributed to their deterioration in recent years.

According to the US Geological Survey, Idria (primary) and New Idria (variant) are both official names recognized for federal use in describing this community.