Locating river beds and benches

[KiddoTheMiner]

Does anybody know any methods you can use to find areas with possible river beds other than just going there and seeing if you find a bench. Im interested in these bench deposits but does anyone have any idea how to look at a map and get an idea of where one might be

Heavy pans

 

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[Underburden]

Study a topo map in the area you're interested in.
Check the elevation lines...they are at 40' intervals. The closer the lines are, the steeper the terrain.
When you see the elevation lines further apart, that's a gradual rise / fall in the terrain. When the lines are really far apart, there's your bench.
Follow the blue lines (water) and keep an eye on the elevation lines.

 

[MadMarshall]

not my cup of tea ...... ever here of Map Dowsing for Gold..
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/dowsing/194282-map-dowsing-worked.html

 

[Jeff95531]

Nicely stated Underburden...I did not know that. I mean, I know what the lines represent, but a wider flat spot near a river = bench? That's some good chit there. Thank you!

 

[goldenIrishman]

There are also certain types of satellite shots that will show them. I'm still learning about them and where to get my hands on them. When I find out I'll pass the info along. I do know it's some kind of radar imaging.

I know that Georgia is different than S.California (I've escaped from both!) but in the San Diego foothills you could always tell where the old riverbeds were by the vegetation. if you stood up on a hill and looked around, you could see bands where the plants were different. Had to do with the packed cobbles and gravel. Using the same method MIGHT work in Georgia but it would be much harder to do.

 

[Mgumby16]

Try finding geologic maps of your area of interest generally 7.5 minute quadrangles are best or geologic maps of the county. On these they will sometimes mark bench deposits as t1 or t2 and give a description of them. I've found that newer maps tend to show more detail.

Also another method I've started using is soil survey maps which can be found online or there is also a kml file that can be downloaded and overlayed in google earth. Once this is done you can click on the different soil areas and it will tell you their parent material. Ones that say alluvium are your best bet. Idk if they will all be bench deposits as u have not been able to go and test all the different areas that show up as potential bench deposits.

Best of luck to you and I hope this helps!