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California Creek

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Asbestos, Jade
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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 10308999
MRDS ID A015603
Record type Site
Current site name California Creek
Related records 10112165, 10003077

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -156.62853, 66.95664 (WGS84)
Relative position The California Creek placer deposit is on California Creek between Little Creek and Wonder Creek. The coordinates are for the mine symbol on Shungnak D-2 quadrangle. The deposit is in sections 14, 15, and 22, T. 18 N., R. 10 E., of the Kateel River Meridian. Cobb (1972, MF-448), location 16, and Mayfield and Grybeck (1978), location 34.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Northwest Arctic(Borough)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Shungnak D-2(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Shungnak NE(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Shungnak(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Kobuk River(hydrologic unit)

Kobuk-Selawik Rivers(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

NANA Regional Corporation, Incorporated(ANCSA Region)

ANCSA Region NTVPIC(Type of land area)

NTVPIC(Federal land areas administered by NTVPIC)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Asbestos Secondary
Jade Secondary

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) -156.62853, 66.95664
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = At California Creek, placer gold occurs in the lower 5 feet of creek gravels, but not in bedrock crevices. The gold is smooth, flat and coarse; about half of it was nugget size. It was worth about $17.20 per ounce in 1931. The grade of the deposit was said to average $0.81 per cubic yard up to and including production from 1930. In 1931 the ground averaged about $0.385 per cubic yard (gold at $20.67/ounce). Both creek and bench deposits were auriferous. Depth to bedrock ranged from 14 to 20 feet. The gravel is coarse, up to 3 inches in diameter, and contains numerous subangular boulders of greenstone and greenschist up to 3 feet in diameter. Nephrite boulders were common, but few of gem quality. Asbestos fibers said to be as long as 3 inches were found in placer workings. The valley is unglaciated. The stream drains an area of lower Paleozoic metavolcanic rock and phyllite that is cut by many quartz veins from which the gold in the placers was probably derived. The veins may be genetically linked to the mid-Paleozoic granitic intrusion that outcrops on lower Lynx Creek (ARDF number SH006) (Reed, 1931). Quartz crystals have been recovered from gold placers.
  • Age = Quaternary.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Shungnak

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • Reserves = The deposit is probably mined out.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = California Creek has been mined since gold was discovered on it in 1918. The deposit was mined by hydraulicking pits and washing the lower 6 to 10 feet of gravel through a sluice box. Flumes, hydraulic mining equipment and piles of stripped gravel remain along the creek. The deposit is probably mined out.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Reed, 1931

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).
Deposit Other Comments = Stream gradient is approximately 200 feet per mile. Asbestos fibers said to be as long as 3 inches were found in placer workings.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 16-DEC-99 Williams, Anita U.S. Geological Survey

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.