Question about flood gold, pay streaks, and swimming holes

[Capricorn]

I've recently started prospecting out here in Oregon. I've gone to a few streams where people have found gold before, and I've had OK luck finding some amount of flood gold in gravel bars. This tiny stuff, but its there. A lot of people mention that flood gold will mostly be in the top 12-18 inches or so. So a pay streak from flood and high water, will often be close to the surface, and contain mostly only small specs? No one's going to get rich from that, but it can be fun to see color in the pan, no matter how small :P Now if I want to find bigger, coarser gold, or just more of it, does that mean I'm much better off hunting down a pay streak that is deeper then flood gold? (down to bedrock, etc)

Also, I was recently at a stream that had a large swimming hold. This was a natural hole in the bedrock, that took up most of the width of the creek (20+ feet) and easily dropped 15 feet. It was like a large version of a small whirlpool bowl you might find eroded by water on top of exposed bedrock. I started prospecting down river from it. I didn't think about it until after, but shouldn't that hole have trapped most all the gold to come down stream? I was still finding flood gold below it, but nothing of any size. Would I be hard pressed to find any sizable deposits below the hole? It should work as a large gold trap yes? Does flood gold tend to stay up towards the top of the water until is slows enough? Why would the flood gold get past the hole?

Is a deeper, coarser pay streak going to occur in the same spot the flood gold pay steak is in?

Thanks much, having fun, just want to learn and improve

 

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[Aufisher]

Go deep in the bedrock cracks. Break rocks. I bet that hole is a gold holder.

 

[spillercanyon]

Hey Capicorn, the creek is like a big sluice box that is tilted too much and has too much water running through it. The hole will catch some gold but like an over-loaded sluice, a lot of gold is going to keep on going. See all the big rocks below the hole, they went through there and came out the other side. The swimming hole on my claim looks like a big standing wave when the creek is at flood stage, there is no swirling about it, the water goes off the edge, follows the bedrock down and right back up the other side and down the creek. Check the cracks in the swimming hole but by no means stop there, go below it and above it. Flood gold does sinks just like the rest of it, it's just the whole top 1-2 feet of gravel is moving and churning at flood stage, it stops for awhile and then gets kicked back into the gravel slurry, once again, like an over-loaded sluice. Good Luck!

 

[TerryC]

Those large holes normally do not hold gold for the same reason they were made.... the sand and rocks "race" through them, rounding out the hole. Any cross cracks will hold gold, though. Even if the crack seems much too small to hold it, investigate anyways. TTC

 

[Jason in Enid]

I would give the hole a good testing at least. I would also test right behind the hole. If the water is sliding down the hole and racing back up the other side you may have a low pressure spot right outside the edge.

 

[Capricorn]

Thanks for the feed back. You've given me stuff to think about for sure.

Now what about a correlation between flood gold and course gold deeper? Is there one? Sometimes yes, sometimes no?

Terry, I appreciate your description about why it might not trap gold as much, it makes sense to me.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. MY current dredging river has NO bigger, chunkier gold under the overburden but it has fines in the overburden.

 

[TerryC]

Jason, and others, have valid points, Cap. But you must investigate all possibilities. Take notes and pictures. Compare your findings to the writings of "old salts". After awhile the light bulb will go on! Then you can systematically exclude those ideas that are not working and concentrate on those that are. I am only a veteran prospector of the last 6/7 years. I have found my share of color near Quartzsite AZ, Stanton, AZ and places in Northern CA. Others have done better than I but I do the best I can in my physical condition (not the best). Collecting color is merely proportional to the amount of work you want to put into the effort! TTC

 

[Capricorn]

Here is a video of where I was at. Looking over the video makes me see a lot of different areas to sample. That crack before the big drop off into the hole, the bottom of the hole, the gravel bar at the end of the hole.. I'm curious about the light gravel deposit on the shelf above the hole.. I'm not sure I could hold my breath long enough to get material from the bottom of the hole :P I'm sure there is more to check.. I was sampling and getting material from a gravel bar about 100-150 yards further down stream.



Also, if anyone has any references to material on methods for locating pay streaks, I'd be much obliged. Thanks!

 

[DesertNuggets]

Here is a video of where I was at. Looking over the video makes me see a lot of different areas to sample. That crack before the big drop off into the hole, the bottom of the hole, the gravel bar at the end of the hole.. I'm curious about the light gravel deposit on the shelf above the hole.. I'm not sure I could hold my breath long enough to get material from the bottom of the hole :P I'm sure there is more to check.. I was sampling and getting material from a gravel bar about 100-150 yards further down stream.

YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERaEZIrGWWk

Also, if anyone has any references to material on methods for locating pay streaks, I'd be much obliged. Thanks!

Beautiful area. A wetsuit and an air hose wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I would be all over that with my dredge! Even if there isn't a lot of flood gold, a good swimming hole should be hold ring gold.

 

[Capricorn]

It's a blm campground / park set aside for recreational mining. The creek has claims all up and down it. They ask that you please not dredge the swimming hole if swimmers are present, so I guess they get the priority. The first time I went there were swimmers, so I ventured down stream to find a place. Then the next time I went I just went back and dug my hole deeper.

It sure is a beautiful area though, I love Oregon's scenery.

 

[Jason in Enid]

simple solution! Wait for fall so it's too cold for swimmers. If I couldn't dredge I would be down there with an UW detector.