What is Bedrock

[H&F909ORO]

Hi All,

To some of you this question may be ridiculous to ask because it's something you MUST know but for me I'm still wondering. What is Bedrock? What does it look like and how do you know if it is Bedrock?

 

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[mcordell]

There's many kinds of bedrock, but to keep it really simple think of it as the floor under all of the dirt and gravel.

 

[Astrobouncer]

Most people use the term to refer to a layer of solid stone which is imperable. However, you can search out and find geological survey maps (from USGS for example) of most areas in the US that will tell exactly what bedrock is in your area. This is very important knowledge because then you know for sure if the rock you are looking at is indeed bedrock, or something else and bed rock is still deeper. Bedrock that is subject to weathering is refered to as saprolite meaning rotten rock. Saprolites can be amazing for holding onto gold because some have a sticky clay consistency that holds on to heavy materials as they sink down into it. Also if there is any gold in the host rock, when it weathers to saprolite the gold is released.

I should note that when you find gold in one type of bedrock, it is worth creating a log of the geological conditions present. You will soon find that you will be able to recognize other gold bearing areas that share the same characteristic without even having to dip a pan in. I found some very good locations this way and now have an idea where many more gold bearing locations may be.