Finding Gold
Finding gold in America is supposedly easy. The government provides you with a list of areas where you can mine, and you just go and get it. Well if life was that easy you wouldn’t be on the internet looking up “where to find gold.” The simple fact is that finding gold takes a keen eye, and knowledge of what to look for. Not every stream is flowing with gold flacks, and not every mountain is full of veins.
So, Where Can You Find Gold
Gold can be found at any of the public areas the government has mapped out for mining, but these areas are huge. You have to know what areas of these areas are best for gold.
States With The Highest Gold Yield:
- Nevada
- Alaska
- Utah
- Colorado
- Washington
- California
- S. Dakota
- Montana
- New Mexico
Gold might still be embedded in solid rock, known as “lode gold”, or it has moved elsewhere after these rocks eroded. This eroded rock generally flows downstream in creeks and rivers. There are some helpful things to look for when determining where to mine for gold.
Streams & Rivers -There are four things to look for in streams for the highest chance of finding gold.
- Unregulated – Look for streams that have not been dammed up or blocked in any way. When the winter ice melts it creates what is known as the spring flood. The spring flood churns up the materials in the stream bed and deposits gold into certain areas first. This makes the job of finding the gold much easier for the prospector.
- Mineral Rich Areas – To locate a mineral rich area look for rocks that are displayed by either stream erosion or construction. A place where the rock layers are non-sedimentary will probably be a good place to mine.
- Elevation Changes – Several elevation changes, like waterfalls, in a stream develops nice pools where the gold can easily settle.
- Stream Path & Rock Formations – Gold will settle where the current slows down; look for bends in the stream. Rock formations can also cause the stream to slow down trapping the gold.
Old Stream/River Beds – When rivers or stream have dried up there may still be gold in the stream bed. Look for all the same features as you would in a flowing stream when looking for gold in a dry stream bed.
Desert Wash – A wash is a channel in the desert created when flooding occurred in a desert plain. Large amounts of runoff including gold can settle into the channel making it a prospector’s best friend.
Look:
- Inside of bends
- Downstream from boulders
- Near the gut of the creek
- Under flat dropouts
Hard Rock – Mining into rock the traditional pick ax method.
- Look for quartz – Quartz is visible in exposed rock strata. For years prospectors have used quartz to locate gold in hard rock.
Get Advice From Fellow Prospectors
Prospectors know the better places to prospect, turning to them for help just makes sense. By joining an institution of prospectors you can gain information on the better locations, and even what areas were recently picked.
Organizations are also helpful when making a claim. There have been several cases of prospectors being denied their rights to use public lands, organizations can provide help in these cases.