Ancient creeks/rivers

[NuggetN8]

Is it it possible for a modern day creek to cross another small ancient creek that is no longer there and running? I found something interesting today at the creek. There was a dip on both sides of the creek on one side there was rounded smooth rocks like the kind you would find at the river but small rocks not big rocks probably 1-2 inches in diameter. Then on the opposite side it had rocks cemented together all the way up. The dip on the bank seems to just disappear into the ground. At the top of each dip there's a hole in the ground.





Kind of strange how there's only rounded rock on one side and cemented jagged rocks on the other maybe it isn't an ancient creek just a coincidence that they come in at the exact same location. The one with rounded rocks had color and the other side had less color but still had some. Only took a pic of the rough side. Also anyone know where I can get a map of the paths of ancient rivers?

 

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[Oakview2]

The Tertiary gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California - Waldemar Lindgren, F

If you open this link, you can read the whole book. The old tertiary channels usually run north and south, and the more modern channels run east to west. Hope this is what you have found as the discovery of of these ancient channels are what made the legends of the 49ers.

 

[taternut]

Maybe some sort of drainage down the hill were all the rain collects and runs into the stream in the winter?

 

[NuggetN8]

The Tertiary gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California - Waldemar Lindgren, F

If you open this link, you can read the whole book. The old tertiary channels usually run north and south, and the more modern channels run east to west. Hope this is what you have found as the discovery of of these ancient channels are what made the legends of the 49ers.

Thanks for the link! Checked on a map. It almost runs north. Slightly northwest/southeast.

 

[NuggetN8]

Maybe some sort of drainage down the hill were all the rain collects and runs into the stream in the winter?

Yeah could be but I don't think a normal drainage would have perfectly rounded rocks like that.. Idk ill have to investigate a little more. The modern day creek I prospect at doesn't have any rounded rocks they're all jagged so its kind of random.

 

[fowledup]

Hope you found something good. I'm wondering if it might be an old dredge site. Any piles of larger rocks and smaller boulders on the downhill side or direction that would be the easiest to move? Either way looks like a good place to poke around and check out.

 

[NuggetN8]

Hope you found something good. I'm wondering if it might be an old dredge site. Any piles of larger rocks and smaller boulders on the downhill side or direction that would be the easiest to move? Either way looks like a good place to poke around and check out.

Nah I don't think anyone has ever dredged this. Too small of a creek to dredge. Probably only a few inches of water flowing through max. Right now its down to a trickle. No piles of anything anywhere. No big rocks anywhere either. I guess I'll have to dig it and follow it up and see if it continues.

 

[goldenIrishman]

It's possible you've stumbled on an old bench deposit. It might be worth sampling it. I used to work an old bench deposit in San Diego and was getting nice fat flakes out of it.

 

[loco oro]

i would ventrue a guess that what you have may in fact be recent stromwater drainage of an older bench of your current stream ,the cracked or angular rock does sugest area being desturbed,also you see this kind of subsidence in a fill area when strom drainage washout less compact fill areas i.e your hole at the tops .really sounds like a old test area backfilled,if not alot of evidence to serious mining in area . even the hardest rocks on earth weather so lots of cobbles of all sizes would be associated with any ancient stream not so much angular rock. but yes current streams do cross ancient waterways . but if you are get n gold keep get n it .

 

[TheNewCatfish]

I've seen prospectors who've done very well checking into feeder creeks on a popular water course already known to contain a little gold. Gold doesn't always come down a main water course from upstream. Sometimes it enters the river or creek from a feeder creek somewhere uphill and not very far away. The bedrock on such a feeder creek could contain a whole lot more gold than the main watercourse. I've seen it on Rose Creek in Arizona. Look about 30 feet back from the conjuction of the two creeks. Imagine the main watercourse at flood stage and visualize it pushing water back up into the feeder creek. Where these two dynamic forces of water meet, that's where the big gold drops out. Good Luck. Sounds like you're in a good spot.

 

[Gravelwasher]

Keep keep searching and get that goldbug out and on the track of the au . Trench with a pick to bedrock, pan and detect what you dig and the bedrock itself.