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Surprise Creek

Producer in Alaska, United States with commodity Gold
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Mineral occurrence model information
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  10. Mining district
  11. Links to other databases
  12. Bibliographic references
  13. General comments
  14. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10307412
Record type Site
Current site name Surprise Creek

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -142.2638, 65.16778 (WGS84)
Relative position Surprise Creek is a northwest-flowing tributary of Washington Creek (CY035). The confluence of the two creeks is located in T. 4 N., R. 27 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. The coordinates have been placed in the area of the most extensive mining, in section 33, T. 4 N., R. 27 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian, although mining and prospecting may have taken place along other areas of the creek. The location is accurate. These mines are located within Doyon, Limited selected or conveyed land.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Southeast Fairbanks(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Charley River A-3(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Charley River SW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Charley River C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 119
USGS model code 39a
Deposit model name Placer Au-PGE
Mark3 model number 54

Nearby scientific data

(1) -142.2638, 65.16778
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Placer gold was mined from Surprise Creek starting in 1906; mining continued intermittently for a few years thereafter (Mertie, 1938). The gold was presumably derived from Cretaceous to Tertiary sedimentary bedrock units (Dover and Miyaoka, 1988). Surprise Creek is one of many tributaries (CY012, CY023) of Washington Creek (CY035) that had small-scale placer production during the early 1900s.
  • Age = Tertiary - Quaternary

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active?

Mining district

District name Eagle

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = Total production from this creek was probably small.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Placer gold was mined from Surprise Creek starting in 1906 and continued intermittently for a few years thereafter.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Brooks, A.H., 1907, The Alaskan mining industry in 1906: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 314, p. 19-39.

  • Deposit

    Ellsworth, C.E., and Parker, G.L., 1911, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480, 325 p.

  • Deposit

    Prindle, L.M., and Mertie, J.B. Jr., 1912, Gold placers between Woodchopper and Fourth of July Creeks, upper Yukon River: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 520-G, p. 201-210.

  • Deposit

    Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1942, Tertiary deposits of the Eagle-Circle district, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 917-D, p. 213-264.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Charley River quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-390, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1976, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Charley River and Coleen quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-632, 45 p.

  • Deposit

    Dover, J.A., and Miyaoka, R.T., 1988, Reinterpreted geologic map and fossil data, Charley River quadrangle, east-central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2004, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Mertie, J.B., Jr., 1938, Gold placers of the Fortymile, Eagle, and Circle districts, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 897-C, p. 133-261.

  • Deposit

    Prindle, L.M., 1913, A geologic reconnaissance of the Circle quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 538, 82 p.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Mertie, 1938

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).
Deposit Other Comments = See also Washington Creek (CY035), Eagle Creek (CY012), Nugget Gulch (CY023), and Dome Creek (CY009). Surprise Creek is located on Doyon, Limited selected or conveyed land. For more information, contact Doyon, Limited.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 07-APR-00 Cameron, C.E. Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative Alaska resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.