Finding Placer Gold

Understanding How Gold Moves in Water

Before diving into specific river spots, it’s helpful to understand why gold collects where it does. Gold is very dense—about 19 times heavier than water and around six times heavier than most rocks. Because of this density, gold tends to settle quickly when water slows down.

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As water flows downstream, it carries all sorts of materials: silt, gravel, sand, and heavier objects like gold. When the river current slows—due to bends, obstructions, or changes in gradient—gold tends to drop out and collect in specific areas. Over time, these areas can build up concentrated deposits known as pay streaks.

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1. Inside Bends of Rivers

One of the most common places to find placer gold is on the inside bends of a river. As water flows around a curve, it accelerates on the outside edge and slows on the inside. This creates a natural eddy where heavier materials—including gold—can settle.

 

What to Look For:

• Gravel bars on the inside of river curves

• Darker, heavier sand (also known as “black sand”)

• Layered materials where gold may have settled between heavier and lighter strata

 

Inside bends are often easily accessible and a great place for beginner prospectors to start.

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2. Behind Large Rocks and Obstructions

When water hits a large rock, it is forced around it, causing a low-pressure zone immediately behind the obstruction. This “eddy” area is perfect for capturing heavier materials like gold.

 

Tips:

• Look for gold directly behind or just downstream of large boulders

• Check cracks in the bedrock beneath or around these rocks

• Gold can also be caught in moss growing on the downstream side of rocks

 

Even small obstructions like tree roots or fallen logs can create gold traps in shallow streams.

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3. In Bedrock Crevices

Perhaps the most productive place to find placer gold is in bedrock crevices. As water wears away the overburden (loose surface material), it exposes bedrock beneath. Because gold is heavy, it tends to settle into cracks and fissures in this hard surface.

 

How to Prospect Bedrock:

• Use crevice tools or a metal detector to check cracks

• Remove loose gravel and wash it carefully

• Check both above and below waterfalls where bedrock is exposed

 

Natural riffles in the bedrock act like a sluice box, catching and holding gold for decades or even centuries.

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4. Natural Riffles and Drop-Offs

Just like artificial sluice boxes use riffles to catch gold, rivers have natural riffles—areas where rocks or ledges in the riverbed cause the water to churn and slow. Downstream of these riffles, the water velocity drops, creating a “dead zone” where gold can fall out of suspension.

 

Look For:

• Sharp drops in the riverbed

• Ledges, gravel bars, or sudden depth changes

• Sand and gravel buildup in slower areas behind riffles

 

These zones can concentrate a surprising amount of gold in just a small area.

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5. The “False Bedrock” Trap

In some rivers, especially those with heavy sedimentation, a layer of clay or compacted gravel may form a dense layer above the true bedrock. Gold often can’t penetrate through this false bottom, so it settles there instead.

 

What You Should Know:

• False bedrock is often found 1–3 feet above real bedrock

• Check the top of this layer carefully—it may hold significant gold

• Dig deeper if legal and safe; real bedrock below may contain even richer deposits

 

Prospectors who overlook false bedrock may miss out on valuable pay streaks.

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6. Where Tributaries Enter Main Rivers

When a small stream or creek joins a larger river, there is often a drop in water speed and a mixing of materials. These “confluence zones” are prime gold traps. If gold has traveled down the tributary, it can settle at or near its mouth.

 

Hot Spots:

• Just downstream of the confluence point

• Around sandbars formed by merged flows

• Below small waterfalls or pools caused by the merger

 

These are high-traffic gold areas and may have been worked historically, but fresh floods can renew the deposit.

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7. Below Waterfalls and Rapids

Waterfalls and rapids can act like giant natural sluice boxes. As gold is carried downstream, the turbulence created by falling water can force gold to sink and become lodged in cracks or gravel below the falls.

 

Prospect Below:

• Waterfalls, especially those exposing bedrock

• Rapid zones where the riverbed drops sharply

• Small plunge pools or still-water areas behind rapids

 

Use caution and always prospect in safe, accessible areas.

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8. High Benches and Ancient Channels

Not all placer gold is found in modern riverbeds. Over time, rivers change course, leaving behind high benches—flat areas above the current water level where the river once flowed. These ancient channels may contain rich, untapped placer deposits.

 

Signs of an Old Channel:

• Rounded river rock far above current waterline

• Exposed gravel or compacted pay dirt

• Eroded banks showing stratified layers of silt, clay, and gravel

 

Detecting old channels takes experience and sometimes a bit of luck, but they can be extraordinarily productive.

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Final Thoughts: Read the River Like a Map

Finding placer gold is as much an art as a science. Rivers are constantly changing, and each flood season can create new pay streaks while burying or uncovering old ones. The key is to read the river, understand how gold behaves in moving water, and focus your efforts on locations where gold is most likely to settle.

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To recap, the best places to look for placer gold include:

• Inside bends

• Behind boulders

• Bedrock crevices

• Natural riffles

• False bedrock

• River confluences

• Below waterfalls

• Ancient river channels

 

By combining careful observation with hands-on exploration, you’ll dramatically increase your chances of finding that elusive yellow metal.

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Bonus Tip: Look for Black Sand

Black sand—rich in magnetite and hematite—is a common indicator of placer gold. While not always present, its presence often correlates with gold-bearing deposits. If you see concentrated layers of black sand in one of the above zones, you're in a good spot to pan or sluice.

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Happy prospecting—and remember, every nugget starts with a shovelful of dirt in the right place.