Fiddletown Mining District (Oleta Mining District), Amador County, California, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Fiddletown Mining District (Oleta Mining District) | Mining District |
| Amador County | County |
| California | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
38° 31' 59'' North , 120° 45' 0'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Location: This district is in northwestern Amador County in the general vicinity of the old mining town of Fiddletown, 6 miles E of Plymouth. It also has been known as the Oleta district.
History: Fiddletown was settled in 1849, reportedly by Missouri miners addicted to "fiddling." The
district flourished in the 1850s when the drift and hydraulic mines were active. Attention was drawn to the area by Bret Harte's short story, An Episode at Fiddletoivn. The name proved offensive to one of the distinguished residents and, in 1878, he succeeded in having the name changed by legislative enactment to Oleta. In 1937, the Cafifomia Historical Society, with the approval of local residents, obtained the restoration of the original name. There was some drift mining and dragline dredging in the district in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Geology: Numerous patches of quartzitic gravels remain that were deposited by several channels of the Tertiary Cosumnes River. One channel comes in from the Coyoteville area from the northeast and another from Volcano from the southeast. Some of the gravels are capped by andesite. Bedrock is chiefly graphitic slate, metachert and schist of the Calaveras Formation (Carboniferous to Permian). Limestone lies to the east and granodiorite to the north. There are a few narrow gold-quartz veins in the district.
History: Fiddletown was settled in 1849, reportedly by Missouri miners addicted to "fiddling." The
district flourished in the 1850s when the drift and hydraulic mines were active. Attention was drawn to the area by Bret Harte's short story, An Episode at Fiddletoivn. The name proved offensive to one of the distinguished residents and, in 1878, he succeeded in having the name changed by legislative enactment to Oleta. In 1937, the Cafifomia Historical Society, with the approval of local residents, obtained the restoration of the original name. There was some drift mining and dragline dredging in the district in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Geology: Numerous patches of quartzitic gravels remain that were deposited by several channels of the Tertiary Cosumnes River. One channel comes in from the Coyoteville area from the northeast and another from Volcano from the southeast. Some of the gravels are capped by andesite. Bedrock is chiefly graphitic slate, metachert and schist of the Calaveras Formation (Carboniferous to Permian). Limestone lies to the east and granodiorite to the north. There are a few narrow gold-quartz veins in the district.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.Mineral List
Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities13 valid minerals.
Detailed Mineral List:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| ⓘ | Diamond | 1.CB.10a | C |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz var. Amethyst | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | var. Chalcedony | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 | |
| ⓘ | var. Rose Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | var. Rutilated Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | var. Smoky Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | var. Rock Crystal | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | var. Blue Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | Opal | 4.DA.10 | SiO2 · nH2O |
| ⓘ | var. Moss Opal | 4.DA.10 | SiO2 · nH2O |
| ⓘ | Pyrolusite | 4.DB.05 | Mn4+O2 |
| ⓘ | Rutile | 4.DB.05 | TiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Rhodochrosite | 5.AB.05 | MnCO3 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Tephroite | 9.AC.05 | Mn2+2(SiO4) |
| ⓘ | Spessartine | 9.AD.25 | Mn2+3Al2(SiO4)3 |
| ⓘ | Alleghanyite | 9.AF.45 | Mn2+5(SiO4)2(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | Schorl | 9.CK.05 | NaFe2+3Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| ⓘ | Tremolite | 9.DE.10 | ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | Muscovite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Chrysoprase' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Psilomelane' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Manganese Oxides' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Alleghanyite | Mn52+(SiO4)2(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Opal | SiO2 · nH2O |
| H | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| H | ⓘ Tremolite | ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
| B | Boron | |
| B | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Diamond | C |
| C | ⓘ Rhodochrosite | MnCO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Alleghanyite | Mn52+(SiO4)2(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Amethyst | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Opal | SiO2 · nH2O |
| O | ⓘ Pyrolusite | Mn4+O2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Rhodochrosite | MnCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Rose Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Rutilated Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Rutile | TiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Smoky Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Spessartine | Mn32+Al2(SiO4)3 |
| O | ⓘ Tephroite | Mn22+(SiO4) |
| O | ⓘ Tremolite | ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Rock Crystal | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Blue Quartz | SiO2 |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Tremolite | ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Al | ⓘ Spessartine | Mn32+Al2(SiO4)3 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Alleghanyite | Mn52+(SiO4)2(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Amethyst | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Opal | SiO2 · nH2O |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Rose Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Rutilated Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Smoky Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Spessartine | Mn32+Al2(SiO4)3 |
| Si | ⓘ Tephroite | Mn22+(SiO4) |
| Si | ⓘ Tremolite | ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Rock Crystal | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Blue Quartz | SiO2 |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Tremolite | ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
| Ti | Titanium | |
| Ti | ⓘ Rutile | TiO2 |
| Mn | Manganese | |
| Mn | ⓘ Alleghanyite | Mn52+(SiO4)2(OH)2 |
| Mn | ⓘ Pyrolusite | Mn4+O2 |
| Mn | ⓘ Rhodochrosite | MnCO3 |
| Mn | ⓘ Spessartine | Mn32+Al2(SiO4)3 |
| Mn | ⓘ Tephroite | Mn22+(SiO4) |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Native Gold | Au |
Localities in this Region
- California
- Amador County
- Fiddletown Mining District (Oleta Mining District)
- Fiddletown (Oleta)
- Betty Lu Placer Mine
- Clark Placer Mine
- Clipper placer
- Cooper Mine
- Deaver prospect (Reeves Mine)
- Del Porto Marble deposit
- Elwood Orr placer
- Fiddletown deposit
- Germolis prospect (Rodon; Rodonick; Germolie; Cormolis)
- Gillett Mine
- Gold Placer Gravel occurrence
- Golden Treasure Mine
- Indian Gulch occurrence
- Loafer Hill
- Lubanko prospect
- Mueller Placer Mine
- Oleta Area Quartz occurrences
- Oleta Mine (Smith-Vincent Mine)
- Fiddletown (Oleta)
- Fiddletown Mining District (Oleta Mining District)
- Amador County
- California
- Amador County
- Fiddletown Mining District (Oleta Mining District)
- Fiddletown (Oleta)
- River Pines
- Fiddletown Mining District (Oleta Mining District)
- Amador County
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Shoofly-Olds Ferry DomainDomain
- Sierra Nevada BatholithVolcanic Arc
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References
Chrysoprase and Moss Opal deposits, River Pines, Fiddletown Mining District, Amador County, California, USA