Jump to content

Ancient River Channels


Recommended Posts

20 minutes ago, Gold Catcher said:

 The amount of trash I usually collect in hydraulic pits is mind-boggling.

In my limited experience and areas, I find hydraulic areas have less trash than the river bottoms where the dredges operated....

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites


7 minutes ago, oneguy said:

In my limited experience and areas, I find hydraulic areas have less trash than the river bottoms where the dredges operated....

Yeah I am not going there at all with a metal detector 🤪

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Caught me a tertiary trout one time. If your going to prospect the Sierras the above mentioned publications are the place to start. Here is a little secret, but don't tell anyone. These ancient channels were fed by smaller tributaries the same as today's rivers. Some of these are not covered by immense depths of andesite and mud flows and can be very productive.

 I have my own theories about the age and processes by which these channels were formed but what do I know.

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, klunker said:

Here is a little secret, but don't tell anyone.

Just tell me the GPS coordinates. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone 😉

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, klunker said:

 I have my own theories about the age and processes by which these channels were formed but what do I know.

I'm interested in hearing them.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ive been deep in a buried "ancient" river mine where you can pick the drift wood out of the  ceiling.   Its still good wood, though a bit mushy.   I also have my own theories...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are a few additional references on ancient Tertiary river channels that provide a little additional insight.

Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park

https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/Documents/Publications/Special-Reports/SR_230-GeoGems-Notes-LR/CGS_SR230_MalakoffDiggins_SHP_lr.pdf

 

South Yuba River State Park

https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/Documents/Publications/Special-Reports/SR_230-GeoGems-Notes-LR/CGS_SR230_SouthYubaRiver_SP_lr.pdf

 

The old river beds in California by LeConte (1879)

http://minerdiggins.com/Ripple/Library/LeConte1879Rivers.pdf

 

Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology poster on ancient river channels

https://nbmg.unr.edu/Staff/GarsideL/GarsideL_poster.pdf

 

Prospecting Old Tertiary Channels by Chris Ralph

Prospecting Old Tertiary Channels - September 2010 (Vol. 80, No. 1) - ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal

 

Unravelling the paleotopography and extent of Eocene-Oligocene gravel deposition of the ancient Serran drainage systems; A Master’s Thesis by Christina Marie Tipp 2017

https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.startpage.com/&httpsredir=1&article=8411&context=etd_theses

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does the name Stan Grist ring a bell with anyone?   I don't know if he was legit or not but he a gold coarse if I remember right.  He had maps showing  Ancient River channels from Canada to somewhere in South America.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ran into various old relics of the course this Stan Grist was selling when I was searching for another detectorist who seems to be lost to history and I never located named Chet Long (not the Chet that posts here, I asked :smile:). I seem to remember seeing Grist ads in magazines or maybe online when I first started detecting for gold too.

Sure wish some of these guys would have shared more knowledge on the forums.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...