DJ,
On dry land, you would start looking in old creek beds, dry washes and perhaps valleys located in close proximity to known gold producing mines, even if the old mines are played out. You can also work the tailings from old mines, presuming you can get permission to set foot on those properties. Most old mines are owned by someone, and most forbid trespassers. You can also go into known gold producing regions where sand or sandy soils predominate (the Dunes area between California and Yuma, Arizona for one; parts of Georgia for another; and parts of Alaska) and work the sands.
You'll need proper equipment though. A dry washer (or dry rocker), a gold pan with riffles, an ample supply of water that you'll need to bring in yourself... Or perhaps something easier, like a metal detector. If you have an abundant supply of water, then a sluice set-up (replete with riffles/carpeted base) is also desirable. And if you've got money to burn, you could also buy one of those automated panning thingies that will do the panning for you if you got a lot of water to waste.
It can be a lot of fun and it can be a lot of work. It can be dangerous (there's some mean critters out in the back country, including some of the two-legged variety). It's not something for kids to do unless you're in a supervised, populated area.
KJC |
