Has anyone been prospecting In Yellowstone

[motohed]

I was sitting here thinking about yellowstone . I was wondering if there is Gold there and if anyone can make a claim ? It's beautful country . I was just thinking it we be a great place to be .

 

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[Jeff95531]

It is! And I'm sure you could prospect there with the appropriate fine paid.

 

[motohed]

I guess I was dreaming , thinking you could prospect in yellowstone . But it is a national park , would'nt it be under the BLM with the possibility of a claim .

 

[goldenIrishman]

SOOOOO sorry Mr.Moto but you no prospect on national park or monument! This also seems to apply to National Recreation Areas which to me is just wrong! Hikers, mountain bikers, hunters and fishermen get to use them so why not metal detectorists? Seems to me that we're being excluded with no just cause.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

National Parks are under the Interior Department, not BLM.
Jim

 

[Jeff95531]

Yep! They keep it interior and we get to visit it...when they let us...just don't touch anything.

 

[goldenIrishman]

What we need is a gathering of ALL users of public lands and file a law suit stating that these "Monuments" were created in a manner that did not follow the rule of law. Slick Willie Clinton set up a bunch of them and now O bummer has followed suit. Being president does NOT mean you get to circumvent the laws and just close off public lands to access by the people that own them. Miners lost many millions of acres without any kind of due process being followed. Same for off roaders of all types as well as many other groups. The laws clearly state that any road (no matter what the size or condition) that is shown on a topo map dated 1976 or before can not be closed without a full environmental impact study being done before hand. The latest three in S. Calif closed off a lot of good mining areas and it was all done with nothing more than the stroke of a pen. By definition a monument is to commemorate some important person or event. So by that definition, this latest land grab does not meet the requirements of being a monument. I think that Washington D.C. needs a reminder that all that land belongs to "WE THE PEOPLE" not the current idiot sitting behind a desk that has not even set foot in the area during their lifetime!

 

[austin]

Geologists say that there is a super volcano under the park that someday will erupt. Bide your time, stay away, let it cool and then go prospect. Should be some nice new veins. Silver too I bet...

 

[wildminer]

The Yellowstone has so much too offer that you would have to live there in order to absorb even just a small portion of what the area has to offer. Geologic speaking, I think I learned more after my visit in 2008 after I got home rather than when I was there since I was so impressed with the sights and did some research. The earths crust is very thin here. I went in late Oct. when the crowds had thinned out and the elk were herding up getting ready to migrate down for the winter. Buffalos on the road, grizz crossing the road in front of the rig going back to camp in the evening. Very cold at nite with below freezing. Free entrance to the park with a senior pass. I had a cozy travel trailer and I would recommend a cold weather equipped RV up there on the divide for that late fall time of year. Should be a bucket list number for all!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Only two National Parks allow prospecting in any form. Both are in Alaska.

Find open land downstream of the park and you'll find your gold!

 

[motohed]

That's the problem with living in New England . We don't have any National Parks , etc . So we can be a little nieve , when just letting our mind wonder . Thanks to all for the reality check . I'm sure we all paid for these National Parks , etc .

 

[Lanny in AB]

So, I remember hearing legends and tales of gold from the Yellowstone area, and it makes sense, I mean, talk about a geologically active area. I also remember hearing tales of lost gold in the area too, of a chest of gold that's sunk in a swamp. As well, I've heard whispered tales of fantastic panning with rangers catching people in the act and telling them to dump the contents back in the streams.

As with any legendary tale, I have no idea how much is true, but it's fun to think about. (I've never been prospecting in a National Park, and am in no way recommending anyone try by the way.)

All the best,

Lanny

 

[KevinInColorado]

Lanny, I heard a story about a rogue ranger who metal detected for nuggets in Yellowstone...and found some. Hmm, urban legend or real?

 

[Ragnor]

Just east of yellowstone I was at an old mine once. Chalcopyrite in granite I believe. Might even still have pics somewhere. Head towards bear tooth pass.

I'll never forget crossing that bridge into yellowstone and immediately recognizing what it had just recently been a giant pit of boiling mud and sulfer That had colapsed strait into the ground. lol

 

[wildminer]

The Rock at the top of the Tetons is the same as the rock down on the valley floor at Jackson Hole due to uplifting.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

There's definitely gold on the Yellowstone Plateau. But, it's mostly very fine. It's believed that's the source of all the Snake River flour that is in the Snake. The gold has eroded out of the rhyolite. I seriously doubt there are large nuggets, however. My buddy and I used to spend 3 or 4 days every late October up on the Madison, Gibbon, and Firehole fishing for spawning browns. We were talking about that a couple of years ago, and he asked if I remembered the wooden flume that ran along the wall of the canyon above Gibbon Falls. I had forgotten until he mentioned it. We started wondering if it had delivered water to a gold placer?
Jim

 

[Alex Burke]

I always thought Yellowstone got its name from yellow sapphires or yellow diamonds found in the Yellowstone river north of the park. I think a few diamonds have been found in the park because as people mentioned there is lots of kimberlite and rhyolite in the park.

Here's a couple of interesting link to a geologists blog that studied the area, he talks about undiscovered deposits in Wyoming and Montana outside of the park. I think he's a great geologist having read a couple of his AK papers and until reading his blog I never realized we had anything in common but he loves to rant about land closures too

http://wygemstones.blogspot.com/2011/11/gemstones-in-wyoming.html?m=1

http://wygemstones.blogspot.com/2013/12/diamonds-gemstones-and-gold-discovered.html?m=1

Long mineral assessment of National Forests north of the park if anyone is bored

http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/2005/1654/pdf/P1654.pdf

 

[digger460]

Geologists say that there is a super volcano under the park that someday will erupt. Bide your time, stay away, let it cool and then go prospect. Should be some nice new veins. Silver too I bet...

And if she blows, the gold will come to you

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Hausel's very sharp. I've read his stuff for years. He's the single reason I took up diamond prospecting in the Grenn River basin. But, I've never heard him mention anything about gems in Yellowstone Park. I always assumed the "yellow" was the rhyolite. Never heard of diamonds found there, either.....interesting.
Jim

 

[Asmbandits]

When I was younger and in the boy scouts we camped at Yellowstone for a week and it was some really good memories. Bears waking through the campground, made a fishing pole and caught trout in the river.. Didn't find any gold but strangely enough found a $20 bill in the middle of the woods not near any trail that was really old and tattered. Used it to buy some suviniers