Near Bonanza City (ghost town) in Custer County, Idaho — The American West (Mountains)
Dredge Tailings
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, June 25, 2017
1. Dredge Tailings Marker
Caption: (bottom left) Placer mining with hydraulic giant on Jordan Creek.
Inscription.
Dredge Tailings. . The first prospectors on the Yankee Fork searched for small particles of gold known as "placer gold." Eroded from exposed ore veins in surrounding hillsides, placer gold washed down valley walls and collected in stream channels. Prospectors used gold pans, sluice boxes and hydraulic giants to remover placer gold from the Yankee Fork. Despite the variety of tools, each operated on the same principle. Water washed and agitated sand and gravel allowing gravity to separate the heavy gold particles form the lighter material surrounding it. The Yankee Fork Gold Dredge created the numerous gravel piles or "tailings" you see along the Yankee Fork River and provided the most visible evidence of placer mining on the Yankee Fork. Operating between 1940 and 1952, this depression era dredge removed enough gold to created a gold brick two feet square. Restored by former employees, the dredge rest here at the mouth of Jordan Creek near the site of the Yankee Forks's first gold discovery.
The first prospectors on the Yankee Fork searched for small particles of gold known as "placer gold." Eroded from exposed ore veins in surrounding hillsides, placer gold washed down valley walls and collected in stream channels. Prospectors used gold pans, sluice boxes and hydraulic giants to remover placer gold from the Yankee Fork. Despite the variety of tools, each operated on the same principle. Water washed and agitated sand and gravel allowing gravity to separate the heavy gold particles form the lighter material surrounding it. The Yankee Fork Gold Dredge created the numerous gravel piles or "tailings" you see along the Yankee Fork River and provided the most visible evidence of placer mining on the Yankee Fork. Operating between 1940 and 1952, this depression era dredge removed enough gold to created a gold brick two feet square. Restored by former employees, the dredge rest here at the mouth of Jordan Creek near the site of the Yankee Forks's first gold discovery.
Erected by U.S. Forest Service, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Bureau of Land Management.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Natural Resources. A significant historical year for this entry is 1940.
Location. 44° 22.623′ N, 114°
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43.368′ W. Marker is near Bonanza City (ghost town), Idaho, in Custer County. Marker can be reached from Yankee Fork Road - Custer Motorway Adventure Road near Loon Creek Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Stanley ID 83278, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 13, 2017. It was originally submitted on November 13, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 293 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on November 13, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.