Colorado Creek

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver
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 10308562
Record type Site
Current site name Colorado Creek

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -143.30285, 65.29976 (WGS84)
Relative position Colorado Creek is a northeast-flowing tributary of Coal Creek, which is a northeast-flowing tributary of the Yukon River. Colorado Creek joins Coal Creek just south of the major placer activity on Coal Creek (CY006). Colorado Creek is about 7 miles long; coordinates for the mines have been arbitrarily placed at the approximate midpoint of the creek, in the NE1/4 section 19, T. 5 N., R. 22 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian. The exact location along Colorado Creek where mining was conducted is uncertain, although the lower section of Colorado Creek seems most likely. The location is accurate to within 4 miles.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Yukon-Koyukuk(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Charley River B-5(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

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

Charley River(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve(National Preserve)

National Preserve NPS(Type of land area)

NPS(Federal land areas administered by NPS)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Silver 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) -143.30285, 65.29976

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = In 1905, Colorado Creek was the location of most mining activity in the Coal Creek valley (Prindle, 1906). There is an unconfirmed report of the discovery of a galena-bearing quartz vein (Brooks, 1907). The exact location along Colorado Creek where mining was conducted is uncertain, although the lower Colorado Creek seems most likely. The bedrock at the head of Colorado Creek is Paleozoic phyllitic argillite. The creek crosses a fault, and the lower portion of the creek flows over Tertiary to Cretaceous sedimentary rocks (Dover and Miyaoka, 1988). As at Fourth of July Creek (CY015), Coal Creek (CY006), and Woodchopper Creek (CY038), the source of gold is probably gravels derived from Tertiary conglomerate. Mining took place along Colorado Creek intermittently between 1905 and 1946. Nuggets as large as half an ounce were found. The reported production from Colorado Creek in 1946 was 49 troy ounces of gold and 1 troy ounce of silver (National Park Service, 1990).
  • Age = Quaternary

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Mining district

District name Circle

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = The reported production from Colorado Creek in 1946 was 49 troy ounces of gold and 1 troy ounce of silver (National Park Service, 1990).

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Mining took place along Colorado Creek intermittently between 1905 and 1946. Nuggets as large as half an ounce were found (National Park Service, 1990).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Prindle, L.M., 1906, The Yukon-Tanana region, Alaska: Description of Circle quadrangle: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 295, 27 p.

  • Deposit

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

  • 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

    National Park Service, 1990, Final environmental impact statement, volume 1, Mining in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, Alaska: National Park Service, Anchorage, Alaska, p. 36-44.

  • 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., 1906, The Yukon-Tanana region, Alaska; Description of Circle quadrangle: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 295, 27 p.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = National Park Service, 1990

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).
Deposit Other Comments = See also Coal Creek (CY006) and Boulder Creek (CY004). This site is within the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.

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.

Authoritative Alaska resources

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