Lost Mines in California

11 Lost Mines Records

• The Lost Cabin Mine lost mine · Trinity Alps Wilderness Area, Trinity County · Low probability

  In the autumn of 1850, three prospectors named Cox, Wood, and Buck followed the Trinity River up into the rugged headwaters. Near a waterfall, they found a rich gravel bed loaded with heavy gold nuggets. They.

• The Lost Cement Mine lost mine · Near Mammoth Lakes, Mono County · Low probability

  In 1857, two miners wandering lost in the Eastern Sierra discovered a vein of rich, red volcanic cement-like rock that was packed with pure gold. They chipped off a few pounds of the rock, showing it to others when.

• Goose Egg Mine lost mine · El Dorado County, located in the historic Mosquito Valley, downstream from Newtown and Placerville. · Low probability

  Rooted in the early excitement of the 1848 California Gold Rush, the legend of the Goose Egg Mine began when a lone prospector reportedly discovered a highly concentrated placer deposit in Mosquito Valley that yielded.

• Waterfall Mine lost mine · Shasta County, located in the rugged mountainous backcountry approximately thirty miles up a tributary of Cow Creek, potentially near Bear Canyon. · Low probability

  In the early 1850s, a small party of prospectors from the East Coast traveled into Shasta County, crossing near Cow Creek and Fort Reading, and followed a rugged stream thirty miles into the high mountains. There, they.

• Great Blue Lead at Forest City and Bald Mountain lost mine · Forest City and Bald Mountain drift-mining country, Sierra County, northern Sierra Nevada · Medium probability

  Forest City and the Bald Mountain drift mine sat on the famed Great Blue Lead, a buried auriferous channel that drove some of Sierra County's most persistent lost-channel speculation. Historical accounts describe the.

• Empire Mine State Historic Park lost mine · 10791 E Empire St, Grass Valley, Nevada County · High probability

  One of the oldest, largest, deepest, and richest hard-rock gold mines in California. Operating for over 106 years from 1850 to 1956, it produced 5.8 million ounces of gold from 367 miles of underground passages.

• Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park lost mine · North Bloomfield, Nevada County · High probability

  California's largest hydraulic gold mining operation. Blasted away entire hillsides, excavating over 41 million cubic yards of earth and carving out a massive canyon. The resulting environmental devastation led to the.

• Original Sixteen-to-One Mine lost mine · Alleghany, Sierra County (on Pliocene Ridge) · High probability

  One of the most famous and longest-operating gold mines in California. Discovered in 1896, it is legendary for its extremely high-grade gold-in-quartz specimen ore. Focuses on locating 'pockets' where gold occurred in.

• Morgan Mine & Carson Hill Nugget Site lost mine · Carson Hill, Calaveras County · High probability

  Discovered in 1850, it became one of the most famous lode gold mines in California. In November 1854, miners unearthed the legendary 'Calaveras Giant' (Carson Hill Nugget), which weighed 195 pounds (2,340 troy ounces).

• Hickory Gulch Pocket Strike lost mine · Hickory Gulch, Coffee Creek Mining District, Trinity County · Medium probability

  In August 1897, a major pocket mine strike occurred at Hickory Gulch in the Coffee Creek Mining District of Trinity County. Prospectors Burgess and Murphy uncovered a large vein of decomposed porphyry yielding immense.

• The New Blue Jay Mine lost mine · Morrison Gulch, Coffee Creek Mining District, Trinity County · Medium probability

  Discovered in 1886 in Morrison Gulch within the Coffee Creek Mining District of northeast Trinity County, the Blue Jay Mine was famous as a reliable pocket mine. In 1892, it produced over $60,000 worth of gold from a.