Islands and the gold line

[kikinit247]

I am trying to understand how gold may travel down a river when it encounters an island. This picture is an example of the type of spot I am looking at. The water flows from the bottom of the image to the top. I know the only way to figure it out for sure is to sample, sample, sample and that is what I plan to do the next chance I have. I'm just curious how an island might influence the path gold takes down a river.

 

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[dave wiseman]

https://www.google.com/#q=how+gold+placer+deposits+form

 

[Hoser John]

A huge determining factor to any location is-natural river or a dam upstream. Once natural flows stopped throw the book out the window. Also has the area been mined before? In dayz of old no environutz and rivers were moved from natural riverbeds and torn asunder so there again out the window with the norm. A huge 100 /500 year old storm will remove that island in a flash and gold also. Just a single example. Hazel Creek sacramento river in the 80s had righteous gold,took many MANY pounds, with 1-3' of overburden. After 2 horrendous winters now a island 40+' deep 1/2 mile long and gold gone as bud wasted a whole summer diggn' down to a paystreak he was working prior and kaput gone-For every rule a thumb there are a 1,000 exceptions. That's what makes it so much fun.-John

 

[Jason in Enid]

Based solely on the pic and info provided, I would be looking at the outside (right hand in the pic) of the that island. Remember, gold moves during major floods so look at the land and think of the flow when the water is 30 foot deep. The "left" side of the island is an extremely tight bend, and there may be some gold right at the head of the left-head of the island from the pressure drop. But most of it would probably be trying to hold the straight line and go around the outside. Look at the rocks when you sample. Big rocks = gold.

Of course gold don't always like to follow the rules, and we can't see how a particular stream flowed 100's or 1000's of years ago to leave it's gold.