Ground Sluicing Operation in American Canyon

Hoards of gold seekers flocking to California during the Gold Rush quickly exhausted surface supplies of the precious metal. Miners then turned to more invasive and technologically advanced mining techniques. Diverting waterways, blasting, and forms of hydraulic mining quickly replaced placer mining methods. The ground sluicing operation shown in this 1913 photograph illustrates one of the simplest of the new techniques: ground sluicing. In ground sluicing, miners wash gold-bearing gravel with water in a series of trenches. The water carries lighter soil and debris away, while heavier dirt bearing gold sinks to the bottom of the trenches where it can be recovered. Identification Information: F3735:2176, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mines and Geology.