Gold Panning and Gold Mines in El Dorado County
The Mother Lode runs through El Dorado County… and the Historic Marshall Gold Discovery Park in Coloma was the location of the 1998 World Gold Panning Championship.
Gold Mines of El Dorado County, by Doug Noble provided by the El Dorado County Library.
Successful panners enjoy mining on most of the forks and creeks flowing into the American and Cosumnes Rivers. The photo to the right is a Chinese Prospector on the American River.
Strike It Rich Adventureswww.strikeitrichadventures.com
Phone: (530) 333-2558
They provide gold panning lessons and underground mine tours for groups of 6 or more. They teach mining history using hands-on demonstrations, and their instructors dress in period costume. They guarantee everyone will find real gold to take home as a souvenir. Tours by reservation only.
Some facts and findings on gold panning…
Panning For Gold:
Any kind of flat pan will do but the best is the regular pan you can buy at local shops.
- Fill the pan with sand and small gravel.
- Fill with water and mix thoroughly.
- Rotate the pan in a fast circular motion to settle the gold.
- While keeping the pan level and continuing the circular motion, slightly tip the pan to get the lighter material to the top.
- Take your thumb and scrape the lighter and larger pieces out of the pan.
- Repeat the process over and over until only a small part of the pan is covered with concentrate.
- Leave just enough water to feather the tailings as you lightly swirl the material.
- The heavier material (gold) will be at the tail of the feather.