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California Creek Placer

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

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10003077
MRDS ID A015603
Record type Site
Current site name California Creek Placer
Related records 10112165

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -156.6326, 66.95648 (WGS84)

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

Comments on the location information

  • USGS MF-448, LOC. 16. COORDINATES GIVEN FOR MINE MARKED ON SHUNGNAK (D-2) LAND STATUS VALUE CALCULATED 6-94 USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS WITH BLM 1:2,500,000 SCALE OWNERSHIP STATUS MAP (1991).

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Gold Ore

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel

Nearby scientific data

(1) -156.6326, 66.95648
ListMap

Economic information

Comments on the geologic information

  • VALLEY UNGLACIATED. STREAM DRAINS AREA OF METAVOLCANIC ROCK AND PHYLLITE THAT IS CUT BY MANY QUARTZ VEINS FROM WHICH GOLD IN PLACERS WAS PROBABLY DERIVED. BOULDERS DERIVED FROM GREENSTONE AND GREEN SCHIST EXPOSED NEARBY. QUARTZ CRYSTALS RECOVERED FROM GOLD PLACERS. ; MAJOR.UNITS: TOTAL PRODUCTION PROBABLY MORE THAN 5,000 AND LESS THAN 20,000 OZ.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1918

Comments on development

  • GOLD DISCOVERED 1918; MINING REPORTED IN NEARLY EVERY YEAR THROUGH 1940. MINING, 1918-31, BY HYDRAULICKING. LARGEST HYDRAULIC PLANT IN DISTRICT, 1926.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    USGS MF-448 (D-2), LOC. 16.

  • Deposit

    USGS OF 75-267, P. 30-31.

  • Deposit

    ALASKA DIV. OF MINES GR, 37, P. 28

  • Deposit

    ALASKA DIV. OF MINES GR, P. 57.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit GOLD IN LOWER 5 FT. OF GRAVEL; NOT IN BEDROCK CREVICES. GRAVEL UP TO 20 FT. THICK. NEPHRITE BOULDERS COMMON, BUT VERY LITTLE GEM QUALITY MATERIAL. BOTH CREEK AND BENCH DEPOSITS AURIFEROUS.
Deposit STREAM GRADIENT APPROXIMATELY 200 FT. PER MILE. ASBESTOS FIBERS SAID TO BE AS LONG AS 3 IN. WERE FOUND IN PLACER WORKINGS. FIRST LARGE-SCALE MINING IN DISTRICT. SEVERAL SHORT TRIBUTARIES ENTER CREEK FROM THE SE. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT; 2 UNPUB REPT
Deposit THIS SITE NAME WAS CREATED BY THE REPORTER OR OTHER USGS EMPLOYEE BASED ON PROXIMITY TO SOME MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1987 Powers, M.T. (Huber, D.F.) 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.