Since the days of the California Gold Rush in 1849, prospectors, treasure hunters and vacationers have flocked to California to hunt for gold. They use gold pans, sluice boxes, metal detectors, dredges and dry washers in their prospecting efforts. Rockhounding is done in the gold producing areas.

Recreational gold panning is a popular hobby in California. A simple gold pan is effective in detecting and recovering gold from a streambed.

Metal detectors are used to detect nuggets in the dry washes, dry streambeds and desert areas. Inexpensive light weight sluice boxes are often used in flowing streams to increase the amount of material being washed for gold. Dry washers are used to recover gold in arid areas. Experienced prospectors may be seen dredging for California gold. However, if you want to find some gold and have fun doing it, pans will suffice and provide many happy hours of outdoor activity for you and your family.

The great California Gold Rush was of such importance, and has received so much publicity, that many people are not aware that the California Gold Rush was preceded by gold rushes in the Southeastern States. The first documented discovery of gold in the United States was in North Carolina in 1799 and gold mining started there in 1803. A major gold rush took place in Georgia in 1828 and a lesser rush occurred in Alabama in the 1830's. Most of the gold mining districts in the West were located by pioneers, many of whom were experienced gold miners from Alabama and Georgia. 

Gold mining and prospecting sites in California range from the Mexican border to the Oregon state line and eastward to the Arizona and Nevada state lines. Both Northern and Southern California provide ample locations where you may pan for gold.

Knowledge of those places where gold has been found earlier is useful in searching for more gold.

Prior work by geologists of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, the U.S. Geological Survey and the California Division of Mines and Geology is acknowledged. Of special mention is the prior work of William B. Clark and Ralph Loyd of the California Division of Mines and Geology and that of Waldemar P. Lindgren of the U.S. Geological Survey. The excellent California Division of Mines and Geology Bulletin 193, by William B. Clark, was drawn upon for details of specific gold districts throughout the state and for text regarding the Klamath Mountains region of Northern California.  Lindgren's work published in the year 1911 as regards the ancient Tertiary Rivers is considered a classic.

Note: The above paragraphs to this point are common to each of the six (6) California gold regions. If you should read about gold in the other California regions, just scroll down to the point in the text where the particular region is discussed and continue on from there.

CALIFORNIA GOLD REGION 5

California Gold Region 5 is in Northern California and extends from Millerton Lake State Recreation Area, in Fresno County, about 40 miles south of Yosemite National Park, northward to about five miles north of Quincy, in Plumas County. It extends  eastward from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe and the Nevada state line. Gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in 1848, which led to the California Gold Rush in 1849.

California Gold Region 5 embraces Yosemite National Park, Mono Lake, Sacramento, Carmichael, Columbia, Auburn, Placerville, Nevada City, Grass Valley, Angels Camp, Yuba City, Marysville, Oroville, Paradise, Magalia, Downieville, Mariposa, Coarse Gold, Coloma and Jamestown.

Because of the proliferation of gold deposits here, California Gold Region 5 is known as the California Mother Lode. There is no fixed definition of the boundaries of the "Mother Lode", and actually no true "mother lode" exists. Some geologists define the boundaries as extending further southeast into California Gold Region 4 and further northwest into region 6. In any case, this is a very gold-rich area that has drawn worldwide attention and stimulated migration to California. Pioneers flocked westward across the U. S. plains in covered wagons and people came from Germany, China and other countries to seek gold in California. 

California's largest true gold nugget weighed 54 pounds troy. It was found in California Gold Region 5 at Magalia, in Butte County. 

Big Ten's California Gold Map 5 covers California Gold Region 5. It shows 3,000 gold mines and prospecting sites from official geological records of the State of California and the federal government. Specific gold deposit sites are shown in parts of these counties:

Alpine      Amador       Butte      Calaveras      El Dorado      Fresno      Lassen      Madera      Mariposa      Mono      Nevada      Placer      Plumas      Sacramento      San     Joaquin      Sierra      Stanislaus      Tuolumne      Yuba 
     
GOLD MINES AND GOLD PROSPECTING IN CALIFORNIA GOLD REGION 5

COMMENTS ON GOLD PROSPECTING IN CALIFORNIA GOLD REGION 5

Gold panning may be done in the eight national forests that cover much of the region: El Dorado, Tahoe, Plumas, Lassen, Sierra, Stanislaus, Inyo and Toiyabe. There are many beautiful streams in the national forests where gold may be found.

The dry remains of the ancient rivers of the Tertiary Period are shown on California Gold Map 5. The ancient rivers are discontinuous today, with some parts of them being in the sides of mountains and other parts buried under lava flows from the volcanoes that erupted in the past. These ancient rivers were a major source of gold in the present-day rivers. According to Lindgren, some gravel deposits in the Tertiary  rivers were 250 feet deep, with gold occurring at various levels within the gravels. Remains of the ancient rivers are actively prospected and mined.

Many people have long harbored a desire to find gold in the California Mother Lode region. With the advent of motorhomes, travel trailers and other recreational vehicles, many prospectors are fulfilling that dream.

If you venture to California Gold Region 5, be sure to tour California State Highway 49, which connects the gold camps and was named after the 49'ers. Interesting gold mining artifacts are displayed at localities along this route.

Gold sites continue on adjoining maps 4 and 6.

To read of California's Ancient Rivers of Gold, please go to the link at the bottom of this page.