*

IIOW PLACER DEPOSITS IIAVE BEEN FORNfED

Favorable places to prospect

Ideal conditions for formation of stream placers occur in
valleys leading off the drainnge from mountains with auriferous lodes, wiiu:e there is tr.idence of consiclerabie erosion,
followed by a moclerate -upi,.i, and no evidence of subsequent
glaciation. The coarse st gold occurs usua1l1' ,t tt e heads of
ravines or gulches, unless rlte graciient cf 'fhe stred.rll is to+
great-rvhich x'ould r.e=r-rk in :ril nrsterial being swebt clean
aiong the bedrock. Rich deposirs are seldom oppo_tite the
mout,hs of tributary streams becau-.e the increased volume of
rvater and greater velocity of the current tend to swep an,\1
material onrvard. lrlor is it certain that coneentration will
be found in potholes bclow rapids, which at first thought
might scem to be ideel collertors. Such potlioles in time of
floods act as first-class milling machines; any material caught
in them is subjected to excessive circulation and grinding,
and the gold is liable to be thrown out by the whirling action,
to be deposited in quieter waters below. A too repid erosion
with a swiftly running stream presents little chance for sorting and concentration of the gold, hence streams of moderai,e
gradient, about a 3O-foot faIl to the mi1e, offer a better chance
to the prospector.
Position of the pay-streak
The distribution of gold in the gravels of a placer is extremely irregular; the pal'-streali seldlin follows a set course,
and it may iie in a direction quite ciiifr,rcnt from that of the
present stream bed. This follows from t1,e fact that the original coursc of the strearn wlren the goirl rvas laid dorvn may
have been, and probably was, quite dilTerent from its present