California Creek Mine, Council Mining District, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USAi

Regional Level Types
California Creek Mine	Mine
Council Mining District	Mining District
Nome Census Area	Census Area
Alaska	State
USA	Country

Some placer mining between 1928 and 1940.
Location: California Creek is a west tributary to Topkok Creek. Topkok Creek flows south to its mouth on Norton Sound at Topkok settlement, 5.7 miles west of Bluff. The confluence of California and Topkok Creek is about 3.5 miles upstream from the mouth of Topkok Creek. Pre-1985, 1:250,000 scale topographic maps of the area mislabeled California and nearby creeks. As a result, Cobb (1972, MF 445) mislocated the California Creek site on Allen Creek. This is locality 106 of Cobb (1972, MF 445; 1978, OF 78-181).
Geology: All that has been reported is that placer mining occurred on this creek during the years 1928-30, 1933, and 1939-40 (Cobb, 1978, OF 78-181. A dredge apparently worked on the creek in 1939 and 1940. Bedrock of the area is primarily a polydeformed, metapelitic schist of possible Precambrian age (Sainsbury and others, 1972); Till and others (1986) identify the Silverbow Creek drainage as an area of extensive Quaternary cover.
Workings: Some open cut placer workings are probably present on this creek.
Age: Quaternary; the placer deposits here are at low enough elevation (about 125 feet) to have been influenced by Quaternary sea level fluctuations.

Commodities (Major) - Au
Development Status: Yes; small
Deposit Model: Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	SO010

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References