Field guide

Gold is about 19× denser than water. In any moving stream it drops out where velocity drops — behind obstacles, on inside bends, and into cracks in bedrock.

The same rules apply in dry creeks and dry rivers: when water last ran, it left gold in the same trap sites. You just dig without a pan full of water — or haul water / drywash.

Dry washes are not empty. Flash floods and seasonal flow rework paydirt, then leave it exposed. Arizona, Nevada, and parts of California and Oregon are classic dry-placer ground.

Work exposed bedrock in the wash bottom, caliche-bound gravel banks, and the heads of alluvial fans where velocity first drops.

Perennial rivers rebuild bars every high-water season. Scout after spring runoff when new gravel is loose and gold has just been re-sorted.

Coarse gold stays close to source and hugs bedrock. Fine “flour” gold travels farther and needs careful cleanup gear.

Lode (hard-rock) gold weathers out of veins into residual soil, then into colluvium, gulches, creeks, and finally major rivers. Each step spreads gold farther but usually in smaller pieces.

Maps in Goldvein highlight dispersion corridors — the drainages most likely to have collected gold from known or likely source rocks.

Panning is the foundation. Sluices and highbankers multiply volume where legal. Drywashers own the desert. Detectors find nuggets and help locate ironstone trains.

Public land is not automatically open to mining. Claims, wilderness rules, suction-dredge bans, and state stream regulations all apply. Goldvein sites are educational starting points — always verify on official maps before digging.

Black sand (magnetite, hematite) often travels with gold. Clay layers act as false bedrock. Rounded cobbles with flattened bottoms can mark old channel floors.

Remote creeks, desert heat, cold rivers, and wildlife are the real hazards. Tell someone your plan. Carry water, navigation, and a way to call for help.