Gold Prospecting With Lidar

[DrMike]

Which map(s) does one download from Google Earth Pro if elevation changes and terrain are your main focus?  Is that any "layer" of LIDAR that sees beneath the surface, as in an old, abandoned stream bed?

[PG-Prospecting]

DrMike - 

The ground return from the lidar is the return that shows a bare earth model of the existing ground surface. Google earth pro as program has no compatibility with normal lidar data.  To make it usable on google earth one has take the .las format and render it into a DEM which is generally a .tif file, then from there you need the right program to turn the .tif into a georeferenced kml or kmz file which overlays in google earth.  It is not an easy or straight forward process.  

[DrMike]

I was in oil and gas exploration in the 70's and early 80's until I switched career paths.  We lived in Arizona for 16 years during my residency years and beyond.  I know the Sonoran desert, but I would like to see some lidar-enhanced images to find buried/abandoned stream beds.  The tailing piles around the Hasayampa River are astounding in some areas; they're a monument to how much work men are willing to do in order to get rich the "easy" way.

[1911Colt]

Is there a website you can order Lidar images from?

[PG-Prospecting]

1911Colt  - 

None that i know of other then myself.  Just realize lidar mapping has not been conducted everywhere.  The east coast has good coverage the west coast is less then 50%.  

Shoot me a pm if your interested, i can at least let you know if your area has any or not.  

[Clay Diggins]

8 hours ago, 1911Colt said:

Is there a website you can order Lidar images from?

Already covered earlier in this thread.

[PG-Prospecting]

Found this little gem a few weeks ago.  Shows the uses of Lidar for the gold prospector, and I also learned that Oregon has great lidar data that is easy for anyone to use.  

Oregon Lidar viewer:   https://gis.dogami.oregon.gov/maps/lidarviewer/

 

[WesD]

Ive been using the open topography site for some areas in California. Unfortunately it only has limited imagery of the Motherload area. Otherwise , very cool as it strips the vegetation away and every prospect can be seen