You could not buy any of our claims for $3,000 down, and as for mine, I would not sell for any price, as I think all the money I want is in the claim. Miner William Pollock reported the following during January of 1863: Reports from the Fall of 1862 put the average value at $18 a pan, with some lucky miners taking as much as $80 per pan out of their claims. The placers of the Boise Basin region were often extremely rich. The Boise Basin rush was the largest since the California Gold Rush of 1849, and by 1864 Idaho City would become the largest city in the Pacific Northwest, eclipsing even Portland, Oregon. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.Originally known as “Bannock”, Idaho City was settled in December of 1862, early in the gold rush to the Boise Basin region of southern Idaho. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. Plumas County has eight gold mines that the USGS identifies as significant producers, which is notable given that it is not uncommon for many counties in the West to have no mines considered significant.Įl Dorado County contains at least 20 historically important gold mining districts.Įl Dorado County historical mining featuresĪll mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System.

Gold mines are the most common mine type, with 2,334 mines being listed with gold as a primary commodity.

Image from the WMH Mine Discovery Tools for Google Earth illustrates gold mine distribution in part of El Dorado CountyĮl Dorado County has 2,599 mine records in the USGS MRDS database, making it one of the top mining counties in the nation. WMH Mine Discovery Tools for Google Earth are available for El Dorado county El Dorado County is the site of the 1848 gold discovery at Coloma that initiated the great California Gold Rush.

Gold rush thistle creek dredge