CALIFORNIA GOLD REGION 1

California Gold Mines, Gold Prospecting, Gold Panning and Treasure Hunting  in California Gold Region 6

California gold in:

California Gold Region One  

CALIFORNIA GOLD REGION 1

California Gold Region 1 embraces the eastern area of Southern California from Death Valley to the Mexican Border. It includes Death Valley, Needles, Blythe, Glamis, Picacho and Brawley. Some of the mountain ranges in California Gold Region 1 are Nopah, Big Maria, Cargo Muchacho, Chocolate, Chuckwalla, Panamint, Providence, Funeral, Inyo and Whipple. 

There are gold sites in California Gold Region 1 within fifty miles of Las Vegas along Interstate 15. Sites occur west of Needles near Interstate 40, west of Blythe near Interstate 10 and along the California side of the Colorado River north of Interstate 8 just a few miles north of Yuma, Arizona.  

Big Ten's California Gold Map 1 covers California Gold Region 1. It shows 405 gold mines and prospecting sites from official geological records of the State of California and the federal government. Specific gold deposit sites are shown in the eastern part of these counties: 

Imperial       Inyo      Riverside      San Bernardino
Gold sites continue to the west on Maps 2, 3 and 4.

GOLD MINES AND GOLD PROSPECTING IN CALIFORNIA GOLD REGION 1

California Division of Mines and Geology Bulletin 193 mentions that mining was done by Spaniards as early as 1780-81 in the Cargo Muchacho Gold District, about 15 miles northwest of Yuma, Arizona.  Later, mining was resumed under Mexican rule. This is believed to be the first gold mined in what is now the State of California.

The Cargo Muchacho District received it's name of Cargo Muchacho, or Loaded Boy, when two young Mexican boys came into camp one evening with their shirts loaded with gold. American miners became interested in this district after the end of the Mexican War in 1848. Large scale mining was done there to depths of 1,000 feet. 

The Potholes and Picacho mining districts also lie in the southeastern part of Imperial County, about 50 miles east of El Centro and 20 miles north of Yuma. Small scale mining began in the Potholes  District when California was under Spanish rule. The district was named Potholes because the gold was found in small depressions or pots. As many as 500 Mexicans and Indians could be seen working the dry washes. It is probable  that the Spanish mined the Picacho District as early as 1780. Gold has also been mined in the Chocolate Mountains in Imperial County, notably northeast of Glamis.

The Chuckwalla district, in the Chuckwalla Mountains of Southeastern Riverside County , was organized in the 1880's and mining continued through the early 1900's. There is a considerable number of mines in this area.

Gold has been mined in the Clark Mountain Range in San Bernardino County since the early 1880's, and since at least 1882 in the Ivanpah District, both of which are just off of Interstate 15 and about 35 miles northeast of Baker. Many gold deposits have been discovered through the years both east and west of Death Valley National Monument in Inyo County.

COMMENTS ON GOLD PROSPECTING IN CALIFORNIA GOLD REGION 1

The eastern area of Southern California is dry and hot. This has not deterred modern-day prospectors from hunting for gold with metal detectors during the cooler seasons. They use their metal detectors to scan placers for nuggets in the dry washes and the tailings from earlier mining operations. Other prospectors employ dry washers to recover fine gold and nuggets.

The hundreds of dry washes originating in, and coming down from, the mountain ranges offer opportunities to find more gold. Prospectors from Arizona, Nevada, and other states cross into California to prospect in California Gold Region 1.