Where gold settles in a creek
A good creek is only half of it. Most of the gravel in a gold creek holds very little, so where you dig matters as much as which creek you pick.
The short answer: gold is about seven times heavier than ordinary sand and gravel, so it drops out wherever the water slows and then sinks until something stops it. Test the inside of bends, just below junctions and behind boulders, and dig down toward bedrock.
Where to test
Inside bends
Water runs fast around the outside of a bend and slows on the inside, so heavy material drops there. Look for the gravel bar on the inside, and test its upstream end and the gravel low down near the water.
Just below where creeks join
When a side creek meets a bigger one, the water changes speed and direction and can drop what it was carrying. Test the first stretch downstream of the junction, especially if the side creek drains old mines.
Behind boulders and other obstacles
Big rocks and bedrock ledges make a pocket of slow water on their downstream side. Gold can collect in the gravel packed in behind them.
Where steep water flattens out
A creek that comes off a steep stretch onto gentler ground loses the power to move heavy gold. The first gravel below the change is worth testing.
Bedrock cracks
Gold keeps working downward until something stops it. Where bedrock is exposed in the creek, clean out the cracks and crevices, especially those running across the flow.
False bedrock
A hard clay layer in the gravel can stop gold just as bedrock does. If you hit one, test the gravel sitting right on top of it.
Old high gravels
Creeks move and cut down over time. A layer of rounded river stones high in a bank, or on a bench above the creek, can be an old channel that held gold before the creek moved. Many public lands ban digging into banks, so check the rules first.
Usually a poor bet
- The outside of a bend: the fastest water scours it, so less material settles there.
- Fine sand and silt: they settle in very slow water and usually sit above the layer where gold collects.
- Only the surface: a scoop off the top usually misses what has sunk lower.
How to test a spot
Take several pans from the same layer, starting as low in the gravel as you can reach. Note where you find color, then move and compare. Finding a few small flakes is normal, and one spot's result doesn't decide a whole creek: gold is patchy even on proven ground.
Before you dig, find out who owns the land, whether it's under a mining claim, and what tools are allowed. See the rules for your state.
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Common questions
Where does gold settle in a creek?
Where the water slows down. Good places to test are the inside of bends, just below where two creeks join, behind boulders, where steep water flattens out, and in bedrock cracks. Gold is far heavier than sand and gravel, so it drops out early and works its way down.
Why is the inside of a bend better than the outside?
Water runs faster around the outside of a bend and slower on the inside. Slower water drops heavy material, so gravel bars and gold tend to build up on the inside, while the outside is usually scoured.
How deep do I need to dig for gold?
As deep as you can reasonably and legally go in the gravel. Gold keeps sinking until something stops it, so the richest gravel is often right on bedrock or on a hard clay layer, not at the surface. Rules on many public lands limit digging, so check them first.
How many pans should I test before moving on?
There's no fixed number, but several pans from the same layer tell you more than one. If several pans from the bottom of the gravel show nothing, try a different kind of spot rather than digging the same one deeper.