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

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

Location: California Creek is a small west tributary to Kougarok River. The mouth of California Creek is 3.2 miles south of Taylor. Sainsbury and others (1969) show the lower 1,500 feet of the main channel of California Creek to have been placer mined. This is locality 31 of Cobb (1972; MF 417; 1975; OFR 75-429).
Geology: The presence of gold on the active floodplain and on benches 20 feet above it was noted in early reports (Collier and others, 1908). Sainsbury and others (1969) show the lower 1,500 feet of the main channel of California Creek to have been placer mined but the early reports indicate the benches were also mined. Gold on the active floodplain may be reworked from the nearby benches and these are probably remnants of Kougarok River terraces. There may not be a local bedrock source for the gold mined here. Bedrock of the area is extensively coverd by tundra, but upland exposures are primarily Lower Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks (Sainsbury and others, 1969; Till and others, 1986).
Workings: Sainsbury and others (1969) show the lower 1,500 feet of the main channel of California Creek to have been open-cut placer mined but the early reports indicate the benches were also mined.
Age: Quaternary; placers on present floodplains are probably the result of at least two cycles of erosion and placer development.

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

Other Databases

Link to USGS - Alaska:	BN030

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References