Learn Gold Prospecting! How and Where to find Gold and Gems!

Information for recreational gold prospectors, rockhounds, gem collectors, and treasure hunters! Gold prospecting in the Rocky Mountains a golden opportunity to saddle up and take the family exploring! Go Rockhounding, hunt for rare gems and mineral specimens. Colorado diamonds and aquamarines! Treasure hunting stories of lost caches of gold and stolen treasure. Links to clubs, Jeep tours, outfitters, resorts, and campground information. Find the finest hotels and motels near where you are prospecting in the Rocky Mountains and book your rooms online!

Today's Date is
September 07, 2010

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Research

Gold has been found in varying amounts in every state in the nation. The mineral bearing areas of each of them has been well documented and the areas defined. Time spent at the local library can be very rewarding, biographies and family histories of old miners and prospectors can give great insight as to the best areas to both avoid, because they have been mined out, and where best to focus your efforts at actively prospecting for new pockets and unworked streaks of aluvial gold.

History of the gold rush towns, many considered ghost towns, must be looked at with a modern "forensics" kind of eye. For instance, tent camps sprang up around individual mines and placers, most miners stayed in tents and at that time there really was no place secure to keep their valuables. Thus the individual miner would find a place nearby to bury or cache their "poke". Locating these long abandoned tent camps creates a good place for the modern prospector to go metal detecting. The camp dump may be a possible source of artifacts. Prominent rock outcrops, large old trees, stumps, etc. landmarks the miner could get back and find are good places to pay attention to.

Maps of the mineral belt areas are a huge resource. Locate the streams and creeks that flow out from the mineral bearing areas. Look for mines noted on the map. USGS topographic maps, quad maps, are detailed enough to take you to the specific areas. Check the date the map was last updated (many USGS maps are dated from the 1950's) more current information may be available on commercial maps. Be careful not to trespass or become an inadvertent claim jumper! DeLorme has a great series of topographic maps that have GPS coordinates and are detailed enough to be a great source of current information.

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