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  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Washington 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 10002779
MRDS ID A015242
Record type Site
Current site name Washington Creek

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -142.29281, 65.18978 (WGS84)
Relative position Washington Creek is a northward-flowing tributary of the Yukon River. The mines' coordinates are arbitrarily placed at the confluence with Nugget Creek (section 8, T. 4 N., R. 27 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian). The exact locations of the placer gold deposits are unknown, but prospecting took place along the entire length of Washington Creek. The location is accurate to within 8 miles. The main portion of this creek is 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) Qs
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = Traces of gold have been found along Washington Creek, but all of the productive placer mines, such as Nugget Creek (CY023), Dome Creek (CY009), Surprise Creek (CY031), and Eagle Creek (CY012) are along tributaries of Washington Creek (Mertie, 1942). The bedrock along middle and lower Washington Creek includes Mesozoic shale, argillite, and quartzite, and Precambrian basalt and red beds. Cretaceous and Tertiary sandstone and conglomerate, as well as Precambrian metamorphic rocks are found near the head of the creek (Dover and Miyaoka, 1988). The traces of gold that might be found in the creek are most likely derived from the conglomerate, but all of the productive mining was on the tributaries (Mertie, 1942).
  • Age = Quaternary.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Active

Mining district

District name Eagle

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Prospecting was done along the creek starting in the early 1900's. Some gold was found in Washington Creek, but all of the productive mining took place on tributaries of Washington Creek.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Brooks, A.H., 1905, Placer mining in Alaska in 1904: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 259, p. 18-31.

  • 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

    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., 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

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

  • 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 = Mertie, 1942

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).
Deposit Other Comments = This creek lies on Doyon, Limited selected or conveyed land. For more information, contact Doyon, Limited. See also: Nugget Creek (CY023), Eagle Creek (CY012), Dome Creek (CY009), and Surprise Creek (CY031).

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.