HISTORY OF PLACER MINING IN NEVADA
The first authenticated discovery of placer gold in Nevada was made in 1849 by Abner Blackburn, a member of an emigrant train to Cali-fornia, at the junction of Gold Canyon and the Carson River at the present site of Dayton, Lyon County. Parties of men worked the gravels in Gold Canyon and nearby Six Mile Canyon, Storey County, for 8 years before the source of the placers, the Ophir silver lode, was discovered by Peter O’Reiley and Patrick McLaughlin in 1857 while digging a small water hole for placer mining in Six Mile Canyon .Other lode discoveries in the immediate area followed, and soon the whole world knew of the Comstock lode in Nevada. Although placer mining continued on a small scale in Gold Canyon and Six Mile Canyon, and other placers were discovered elsewhere in the State.
PLACES AND MINES
1 HOLY CROSS DISTRICT . Location: Terrill Mountains and Barnett Hills .
2 JESSUP DISTRICT . Location: Southern Trinity Range .Extent: A small placer deposit was discovered in 1932 on a low hill near the Valley King lode claims (location not recorded) in alluvium that consists of clay, small boulders, and well-rounded pebbles.
3 ELDORADO CANYON DISTRICT . Location: Along Eldorado Canyon, between Nelson and the Colorado River and adjacent banks of the Colorado River. Extent: Small amounts of placer gold have been found in the gravels of Eldorado Canyon, a major east-trending tributary of the Colorado River, and in bars along the Colorado River, for an unspecified distance south of Eldorado Canyon. The gold recovered from the bars along the river was fine grained and erratically distributed.
4 GOLD BUTTE DISTRICT .Location: On the north side of Lake Mead in the hills south of the Virgin Mountains . Extent: Placers are found in two areas in the isolated region north of Lake Mead and south of the Virgin Mountains.
5 LAS VEGAS DISTRICT . Location: Along the former drainage of Las Vegas Wash, now inundated by Lake Mead .
6 SEARCHLIGHT DISTRICT . Location: West of the Colorado River on the east side of the Newberry Mountains.
7 MUDDY RIVER PLACER . In 1912 and 1932, small amounts of placer gold were recovered from the Logan and Muddy River (Moapa) districts.
8 MOUNT SIEGEL DISTRICT . Location: On the northeast flank of Mount Siegel in the Pine Nut Moun-tains. Extent: Placers are Jound on the major headward fork of Buckeye Creek, which drains north along the east side of the crest of the Pine Nut Mountains.
9 GENOA DISTRIC . Location: East side of the Carson Range in the Sierra Nevada, west of the Carson River .
10 CENTENNIAL (AURA, BULL RUN) DISTRICT . Location: Central part of the Bull Run Mountains, north of Bull Rur Reservoir . Extent: Small placers are in the Centennial district along Blue Jackel Creek and Columbia Creek and in the Bull Run Basin .
11 CHARLESTON (CORNWALL) DISTRICT . Location: In several gulches on the south side of Copper Mountain, east of the Bruneau River. Extent: Placer gold has been found in Badger, Union, and Seventy-Six Creeks, Pennsylvania Gulch , and Dry Creek, all southwest-draining tributaries of the Bruneau River, and for an un-known distance along the Bruneau River in the vicinity of these creeks.
12 COPE (MOUNTAIN CITY) DISTRICT. Location: On the south sid.e of the Owyhee River, north of Mountain Cit) and Sugarloaf Peak in the Bull Run Range .Extent: Small placer deposits occur along the Owyhee River, north o Mountain City and near Sugarloaf Peak. Grasshopper Gulch a north-trending tributary to the Owyhe{ River, is said to have been placered extensively in the early days of th{ district, discovered in 1869.
13 GOLD CIRCLE (MIDAS) DISTRICT . Location: North of Squaw Valley between Midas Creek and Squaw Creek . Extent: The location and extent of the placers are unknown. They are probably in the vicinity of the lode mines, in the low hills south and east of Midas .
14 JARBIDGE DISTRICT . Location: Along the Jarbidge River, north of the Jarbidge Mountains. Extent: Minor amounts of placer gold have been recovered from gravels along the Jarbidge River.
15 ISLAND MOUNTAIN (GOLD CREEK) DISTRICT . Location: Alluvial basin north of Island Mountain in the unnamed moun-tains between the Owyhee River and the Bruneau River .Extent: Placers occur in the alluvial basin on the north side of Island Mountain , and along Gold Creek, Hammond Canyon, and Coleman Canyon, which drain south into the basin .
16 TUSCARORA DISTRICT . Location: Southeast slope of Mount Blitzen in the Tuscarora Range . Extent: The placers in the Tuscarora district are largely confined to th~ low hills southwest of Tuscarora and north of McCann Creek .
17 VAN DUZER DISTRICT . Location: On the southwest side of the Owyhee River, south of Mountain City at the eastern edge of the Bull Run Mountains .
18 LIDA DISTRICT (TULE CANYON PLACERS) . Location: Along Tule Canyon, between Magruder Mountain and the northeast flank of the Sylvania Mountains . Extent: Placer deposits occur along Tule Canyon and in some side gulches for an undetermined distance along the upper 4 miles of the canyon. Tule Canyon heads at the east side of an alluvial basin near Walker Springs and trends eastward between Magruder Mountain and the Sylvania Mountains to the alluvial valley at the east flank of the moun-tains, where it turns and drains south to Death Valley.
19 SYLVANIA DISTRICT (PALMETTO WASH, PIGEON SPRINGS PLACERS). Location: In the northwest end of the Sylvania Mountains between Lead-ville Canyon and Palmetto Wash . Extent: Small placer deposits occur on the east slope of the northwest end of the Sylvania Mountains in Leadville Canyon and in an unnamed major tributary to Palmetto Wash, near Pigeon Spring .
20 GOLD MOUNTAIN (TOKOP) DISTRICT .
21 LYNN DISTRICT. Location: Along Lynn, Sheep, and Rodeo Creeks in the southern Tusca-rora Mountains. Extent: Placers are found near the headwaters of Lynn, Sheep, and Rodeo Creeks on the summit of a low divide in the southern Tuscorora Moun-tains adjacent to the north end of Carlin gold mine. Most of the placers are concentrated on and near the crest of the divide in streambed and hillside gravels.
22 SAWTOOTH DISTRICT .Location: Northwest end of the Antelope Range. Extent: The placer deposits in the Sawtooth district are in a nearly level area of approximately 6 square miles near the west side of Sawtooth Knob, a small prominence at the northern end of the Antelope Range.
23 DUTCH FLAT DISTRICT . Location: West flank of the Hot Springs Range, on the east side of Para-dise Valley. Extent: The placers of the Dutch Flat district occur in a small area about 1 mile from east to west and 2,000 feet from north to south, in the alluvium of Sodarisi Canyon and El Paso Gulch between Hot Springs Ridge and Belmont Hill, and at the head of the alluvial fan at the mouth of Sodarisi Canyon.
24 GOLD RUN (ADELAIDE} DISTRICT. Location: East slope of the Sonoma Range, on the west side of the Pumpernickel Valley. Extent: The placers of the Gold Run district are in the upper part of Gold Run Creek, just east of the town of Adelaide, in a basin com-posed of older fan gravels and recent alluvium .
25 REBEL CREEK AND NATIONAL DISTRICTS . Location: West flank of the Santa Rosa Range between Santa Rosa Peak and Buckskin Mountain .Extent: Placers occur in several of the creeks that drain the west flank of the Santa Rosa Range on the east side of the Quinn River Valley. .
26 VARYVILLE DISTRICT (LEONARD CREEK PLACERS) . Location: On the west side of Leonard Creek Valley at the south end of the Pine Forest Range, north of the Black Rock Desert .
27 ACKSON CREEK DISTRICT .
28 WARM SPRINGS DISTRICT .
29 BATTLE MOUNTAIN DISTRICT . Location: North, east, and south slopes of Battle Mountain, south of the Humboldt River and northwest of the Reese River. Extent: Placers occur in many gulches that drain the north, east, and south slopes of Battle Mountain and in alluvial fans formed at the range front. The most productive placers are concentrated near two bedrock areas characterized by high copper-gold-silver metallization spatially and genetically related to centers of Tertiary intrusions.
30 BULLION (TENABO) DISTRICT . Location: East flank of the Shoshone Range in the southern part of Crescent Valley . Extent: Placers are found in two areas in the Bullion district. The most productive deposits are in Mill and Triplett Gulches south of the townsite of Tenabo on the eastern edge of the Shoshone Range .
31 HILLTOP DISTRICT (INCLUDING PITTSBURG) . Location: On the northeast slope of Mount Lewis in the northern Sho shone Range .Extent: Gold-bearing gravels are found in the upper part of Crum Canym (variously spelled Krum Canyon) near the junction of Maysville Canym and Hilltop Canyon.
32 McCOY DISTRICT . Location: East flank of the Fish Creek Mountains, on the west side of the Reese River Valley. Extent: Small placers were worked in the near vicinity of the Gold Dome mine, one of the group of mines northeast of the site of McCoy .
33 KINGSTON DISTRICT.
34 BUCKSKIN DISTRICT . Location: North end of Smith Valley between the Buckskin Range on the east and the Singatse Range on the west . Extent: The placers in the Buckskin district are in the low hills that trend east-west between Lincoln Flat and Smith Valley. The placer area is in eastern Lyon County, and the major lode mines of the Buckskin district are in western Douglas County.
35 YERINGTON DISTRICT . Location: In the Singatse Range between Gallagher and Mason passes at the north end of Smith Valley .Extent: The placers in the Yerington district are in a stream channel that traverses the Singatse Range on the west side of Carson Hill 6 miles north of the Anaconda Co. copper mine at Weeds Heights.
36 SILVER CITY (GOLD CANYON, DAYTON) DISTRICT . Location: South slope of the Virginia Range, north of the Carson River .Extent: The first discovery of gold in Nevada was made in 1849 in gravels near the junction of Gold Canyon and the Carson River near the pres-ent location of Dayton.
37 COMO (PALMYRA, INDIAN SPRINGS) DISTRICT .
38 ELDORADO CANYON DISTRICT .
39 EAST WALKER DISTRICT (MOUNT GRANT PLACERS) . Location: On the west flank of the Wassuk Range, southwest of Mount Grant on land included in the Naval Ammunition Depot Reservation . Extent: Placer gold is found in gravels of Lapan Meadow (variously spelled Laphan, Lapham Meadow) at the head of Lapon Creek .
40 HAWTHORNE DISTRICT (PALMICO PLACERS) .Location: Central western edge of the Garfield Hills on land outside the eastern boundary of the Naval Ammunition Depot Reservation .Extent: Small placer deposits of unknown extent and exact location have been worked intermittently in the vicinity of Pamlico Hill and Pamlico -Ganyon .
41 RAWHIDE (REGENT) DISTRICT .Location: At Hooligan and Balloon Hills, south of the Sand Springs Range and north of Alkali Flat .Extent: Placers in the Rawhide district are found in Rawhide Wash and tributaries extending about 4 miles southeastward from the townsite of Rawhide to the alluvial fan at the base of the hills. Most of the placer-mining activity was confined to the main wash and side gulches between Hooligan Hill on the west and Balloon Hill on the east.
42 AURORA DISTRICT .
43 CANDELARIA (COLUMBUS) DISTRICT .
44 SANTA FE DISTRICT .
45 BULLFROG DISTRICT . Location: Bullfrog Hills and Bare Mountain on both sides of the Amar-gosa River.Extent: Small amounts of gold have been recovered intermittently from placers in the Bullfrog district, which includes the Bullfrog Hills and the Amargosa Valley in the vicinity of Beatty .
46 jOHNNIE DISTRICT . Location: North end of the Pahrump Valley, in the low hills west of the Spring Mountains . Extent: Small placers are found in hillside and gulch gravels adjacent to and below, many of the gold-quartz veins in the Johnnie district.
47 CLOVERDALE DISTRICT . Location: Along Cloverdale Creek between the Shoshone Mountains an• the Toiyable Range, north of Big Smoky Valley . Extent: Placer gold occurs along the lower half of Cloverdale Canyon which trends north-south for about 15 miles from its headwaters tc Cloverdale Ranch.
48 lONE (UNION) DISTRICT . Location: West slope of the Shoshone Mountains, on the east side of the lone Valley .Extent: The placers in the lone district occur in shallow gravels at the western edge of the mountains at two localities, 1 mile north and north-west of lone .
49 MILLEIT (TWIN RIVER) DISTRICT .Location: East and west flanks of the Toiyabe Range at Ophir and Crane Canyons. Extent: Small placers occur in gravels near the eastern range front along Ophir Canyon and along Crane Creek, on the west side of the range .
50 MANHATTAN DISTRICT .Location: Southern end of the Toquima Range, on the east side of the Big Smoky Valley .Extent: The placers in the Manhattan district were discovered in 1906 and have been the second most productive in the State during this cen-tury. These deposits are largely confined to Manhattan Gulch, which trends east-west across the west flank of the Toquima Range, draining the adjacent lode-gold mining area between Gold Hill and Palo Alto Hill.
51 ROUND MOUNTAIN DISTRICT . Location: West flank of the Toquima Range .
52 ANTELOPE (SCOSSA) DISTRICT .Location: Along the alluvial fan east and southeast of Majuba Hill and west of the Rye Patch Reservoir.Extent: Placer are found in the alluvium at the east flank of the Antelope Range in the Majuba Hill area.
53 PLACERITES DISTRICT . Location: In the low hills southeast of the central Kamma Mountains and northeast of the north end of the Seven Troughs Range .Extent: Placers in the Placerites district are in a small area of gravel hills adjacent to Rabbit Hole Creek on the northeast, about 8 miles southeast of Rabbit Hole.
54 ROSEBUD AND RABBIT HOLE DISTRICTS . Location: In the northern Kamma Mountains, north of Rosebud Canyon . Extent: The extent and exact location of placers in the northern Kamma Mountains are difficult to determine because of the lack of large-scale maps showing the location of springs, gulches, and mines.
55 SEVEN TROUGHS DISTRICT . Location: East flank of the Seven Troughs Mountains .
56 TRINITY DISTRICT .
57 IMLAY {HUMBOLDT) DISTRICT . Location: West flank of the north end of the Humboldt Range between Prince Royal and Eldorado Canyons.
58 UNIONVILLE DISTRICT . Location: East Jope of the Humboldt Range .Extent: Placers are found in gravels in Buena Vista Canyon, above the abandoned townsite of Unionville, and in Congress Canyon, a tributary to Buena Vista Canyon from the north.
59 ROCHESTER DISTRICT . Location: West flank of the Humboldt Range . Extent: Placers were worked in Sacramento, Limerick, Rochester, and Weaver Canyons on the west flank of the Humboldt Range. The placers were discovered in the early 1860’s about the same time as the lode mines and worked on a small scale.
60 SPRING VALLEY DISTRICT . Location: East flank of the Humboldt Range . Extent: Placers were worked in Spring Valley Canyon, Dry Gulch, and American, South American, and Troy Canyons on the east side of the Humboldt Range. The Spring Valley district was formerly called the Indian Silver mining district, and it is under this district name that the first discovery of placer gold was recorded. Placers were discovered in Spring Valley Canyon in 1875, when the Eagle mine, now known as the Bonanza King mine, was one of the most active in the area.
61 SIERRA (CHAFEY, DUN GLEN) DISTRICT . Location: Northern part of the East Range.Extent: Extensive placer deposits have been worked in Auburn and Wright Canyons (unlocated) and Barber Canyon, and Rockhill Canyon on the west flank of the East Range. Less extensive placers have been worked in Spaulding Canyon on the east flank of the range and in Dun Glen Canyon at the north end of the district. Willow Creek, lies between Spaulding Canyon and Rockhill Canyon but is considered to be a dif-ferent district, more because of mining history than because of location. The placers were discovered in the 1860’s, and most of the mining was done during the period 1870-90 in Auburn and Barber Canyons, and during the period 1880-90 in Rockhill Canyon by Chinese miners. Little is known of the depth and value of the gravels mined at that time.
62 WILLOW CREEK DISTRICT .
63 COMSTOCK DISTRICT {STOREY COUNTY) . Location: In the Virginia Range, northwest of the Carson River . Extent: Placer gold occurs in Gold and Six Mile Canyons in the Comstock district. The placer gold credited to this district may have been re-covered from gravels in these drainages or from old tailings found throughout the mining area.
64 CARSON RIVER DISTRICT {ORMSBY COUNTY) .Location: Along the Carson River, in the vicinity of Empire . Extent: Gravels along the Carson River have been mined sporadically for placer gold that in part came from old mill tailings from treatment of the Comstock ores.
65 JUMBO (WEST COMSTOCK) DISTRICT . Location: West flank of the Virginia Range.
66 OLINGHOUSE (WHITE HORSE) DISTRICT .Location: East flank of the Pah Rah Range.
67 PEA VINE DISTRICT . Location: Northeast slope of Peavine Peak .Extent: Small placer deposits occur in gulches and ravines on the north-east slope of Peavine Peak in the area where quartz monzonite is ex-po~ed.
68 GALENA (WASHOE) DISTRICT. Location: East flank of the Carson Range, west of Pleasant Valley.
69 LITTLE VALLEY DISTRICT . Location: East flank of the Carson Range in Little Valley .Extent: Gold-bearing gravels that underlie Tertiary volcanic rocks were mined before 1900 in Little Valley.
70 BALD MOUNTAIN (JOY) DISTRICT .Location: Western slope of the southern end of the Ruby Range .
71 OSCEOLA DISTRICT .Location: West flank of the central part of the Snake Range, south of Sacramento Pass . Extent: Thick deposits of gold-bearing gravels are on the west slope of the Snake Range in the vicinity of Dry Gulch and Mary Ann Canyon .Less extensive placers are found in gravels of Weaver Creek and the Summit diggings on the east flank of the Snake Range.
