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Casadepaga River

Past 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. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  11. Mining district
  12. Links to other databases
  13. Bibliographic references
  14. General comments
  15. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10001841
MRDS ID A012656
Record type Site
Current site name Casadepaga River
Related records 10136409

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -164.34523, 64.8082 (WGS84)
Relative position The Casadepaga River is a major west tributary to the Niukluk River. This location is at the mouth of Lower Willow Creek (SO091) and Ruby Creek (SO096), 0.9 miles downstream from the old town of Casadepaga and at an elevation of about 320 feet. It is locality 78 of Cobb (1972, MF 445; 1978, OF 78-181).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Nome(Census area)

Alaska(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Solomon D-5(quadrangle 1:63,360 scale)

Solomon NW(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Solomon(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Nome(hydrologic unit)

Norton Sound(hydrologic accounting unit)

Northwest(hydrologic subregion)

Alaska(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore
Garnet Gangue
Magnetite Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

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

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone

Nearby scientific data

(1) -164.34523, 64.8082
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Casadepaga River is a major west tributary to the Niukluk River. The first 11 miles upstream from the mouth varies from 170 to 270 feet in elevation. The next 8 to 9 miles upstream gains another 150 feet of elevation. The lower 11 miles of the river has a pronouced floodplain over most of its length but in general this river is incised into benches and terraces that have surfaces 30 to 150 feet higher than the present drainage. Gold colors are commonly present in the bench gravels and mining has commonly taken place where tributaries cross the benches and rework these gravels (Collier and others, 1908). Heavy mineral concentrates from various parts of the drainage commonly contain garnet and magnetite. In general, bedrock was not exposed by early mining operations along the lower part of this river. As noted by Smith (1910), the depth to bedrock is known to vary from as much as 57 feet at the mouth of Penelope Creek (SO079) to 17 feet a half mile above the mouth of Big Four Creek (SO066). Sainsbury and others (1972, OFR 511) show placer tailings along the west side of the river for 0.3 miles downstream from the mouth of Lower Willow Creek (SO091). A dredge operated in the vincinity of Ruby Creek and between Ruby and Banner Creeks in 1913 and in the 1930's (Cobb, 1978, OF 78-181).
  • Age = Quaternary; the numerous incised terraces along the Casadepaga River and its major tributaries (including Lower Willow Creek) indicate that more than one cycle of erosion and deposition has developed placer deposits in the area. The low elevations between 1780 and 270 feet along the first 11 miles of the river, suggest that Quaternary sea level fluctuations could have influenced placer development.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Probably inactive

Mining district

District name Council

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = A dredge operated along the Casadepaga River in this vicinity as early as 1913 and in the 1930's. Sainsbury and others (1972, OFR 511) show placer tailings along the west side of the river for 0.3 miles downstream from the mouth of Lower Willow Creek.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Collier, A. J., Hess, F.L., Smith, P.S., and Brooks, A.H., 1908, The gold placers of parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, including the Nome, Council, Kougarok, Port Clarence, and Goodhope precincts: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 328, 343 p.

  • Deposit

    Smith, P.S., 1910, Geology and mineral resources of the Solomon and Casadepaga quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 433, 234 p.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic resources map of the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-445, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Sainsbury, C.L., Hudson, T.L., Ewing, R., and Marsh, W.R., 1972, Reconnaissance geologic maps of the Solomon D-5 and C-5 quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 511, 12 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-181, 185 p.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Cobb, 1978 (OF 78-181)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 19-AUG-1999 Travis L. Hudson Applied Geology

Beyond USGS

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

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative Alaska resources

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