California Gold Panning & Gold Prospecting

 

Santa Ana Mountains and Canyons.

Syndicated Investigative Reporter Michael Webster

Excerpt From The ProspectorsJournal.com

There is Gold in the Santa Ana Mountains based on legends, old timer stories and the fact there are mining claims for sale in the area to this day. Its believed that the Conquistadors first discovered Gold in the area. There is known Gold in hard rock and placer locations in the Sandiego Canyon, Silverado Canyon, Lucas Creek, Trubuco Canyon, San Matio River, San Juan Creek, Alicia Creek and other creeks and canyons throughout the Santa Ana Maintain Range. Many of the creeks are seasonal and can use dry mine method when there is no water. And it is always a good idea to use a Metal Detector during all seasons.

Orange County is one of the most populated counties in the United States, yet just minutes away if you want to go out looking for gold. The best mining occurred near the border of Orange County, San Diego County and Riverside Counties.

Of course, the gold was here long before the Conquistadors. It is even believed by many that the native Indians in the area mined for gold. Santa Ana Mountains is not as famous for its Gold strikes as those in the northern part of the state. At the current rate of Gold you could not only made a living by mining for gold in these mountains but you could get rich.

The area lies between two major interstates and near population centers. Much of the land is public lands clears the way for prospecting. Much of the Santa Ana Mountains are within the Cleveland National Forest.

Miners can still prospect and stake claims in much of these mountains, provided that they follow the proper protocols of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Cleveland National Forest. Check for regulations and find out if the land is not already staked. Be aware that the San Mateo Canyon Wilderness and Camp Pendleton are all off-limits to prospecting. The creeks and rivers certainly much of the better ground is already claimed, but there are still gold-bearing locations that have not been found. And many of the creeks and rivers are ripe for panning for Gold.

It was well known that the Spanish, Mexicans and local Indians were doing some mining in this region long before the Gold Rush to California started. These were small-scale mining operations, often just individual prospectors who were recovering Gold from the rivers and creeks.

As more evidence of early mining Spanish Arrastras have been fund (crude ore crushers generally powered by livestock), proving that these early miners were also crushing ores and extracting minerals from hard rock. While they were certainly mining Gold, there is also Silver, Lead, Tin and other minerals that were probably being mined.