This article is about finding gold with a metal detector in the hydraulic mines of the Sierra Nevada mountains, California. The methods described are for the Fisher Gold Bug (GB) and Gold Bug 2 (GB 2) and the Whites Gold Master II (GM II) and Gold Master V/SAT (GM V/SAT). This information may or may not be applicable to other detectors and other areas such as stream beds or the desert areas of the south west.
Hydraulic
mining was carried out during the gold rush but was pretty much stopped by a
court decision in 1884 because of the millions of cubic yards of debris washed
into the rivers. This method used high pressure jets of water from cannon like
nozzles called monitors or giants to cut into the gold bearing gravels and wash
it into large sluice boxes. The most productive areas for this method were ancient
stream beds that were covered by volcanic debris forty million years ago (give
or take a couple years). Today, these mines are open areas with a few stunted
trees, many stacks of rocks and in most of these mines, a lot of exposed bedrock.
The size of these mines range from a couple acres to well over a square mile.
Most of the hydraulic mines in California are north of Highway 50 although there
are a few to the south. Once you have seen a two or three of these mines, you
will easily be able to recognize others even from a couple miles away. To get
an idea of the scale of these mining operations, there are three guys standing
in the lower left of the photo.