Spruce Creek; Big Spruce Creek Occurrence, Koyukuk Mining District, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Spruce Creek; Big Spruce Creek Occurrence | Occurrence |
| Koyukuk Mining District | Mining District |
| Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | Census Area |
| Alaska | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
67° 35' 23'' North , 149° 18' 0'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Reed (1938) pointed out that Maddren (1913) incorrectly identified Spruce Creek as Mule Creek and that Mule Creek was unnamed. Alaska Kardex No. 031-005 (Kardex is a card file mining claim information system located at the State of Alaska DNR Public Information Center in Fairbanks).
Location: Spruce Creek (named Big spruce Creek on modern topographic maps) is a large, south-flowing tributary to the Bettles River. Its confluence with the Bettles River is approximately 7 miles northeast of Big Lake (site), from which point it extends more than 12 miles to the north. Placer gold prospects on Spruce Creek have been reported near its mouth and further upstream. The ones upstream reportedly were promising; the ones near the mouth were not. Because the upstream locations are not described in any detail, the reference point has been plotted on Spruce Creek near its mouth (sec. 22, T. 32 N., R. 8 W., of the Fairbanks Meridian). The location is accurate within a 1-mile radius.
Geology: There is little information about this occurrence. Reed (1938) reported little or no gold in two shafts about 45 feet deep along the right limit of the Spruce Creek valley near its mouth. Better prospects farther upstream were reported in the early 1900s (Reed, 1938), but their locations are not known. The creek traverses the Horace Mountain plutons and the Chandalar copper belt.
Workings: Prospecting in the early 1900s included two shafts about 45 feet deep near the mouth of Spruce Creek, and there were reports of prospecting farther upstream. Some claims reportedly were staked in 1953.
Age: Quaternary.
Commodities (Major) - Au
Development Status: None
Deposit Model: Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
1 valid mineral.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Native Gold Formula: Au |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| Au | Gold | |
|---|---|---|
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS - Alaska: | CH068 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
- Brooks RangeMountain Range
- Rocky MountainsMountain Range
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Brooks Range DomainVolcanic Arc
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