Prospecting Bear Gulch area of the Black Hills



It doesn't really matter where you look for gold... the true test is "in the pan."  Amanda doesn't get back home very often, but panning is always on her list of "things to do..."   

 Every one of our claims is unique -- we often chuckle at having to re-learn panning techniques at different locations. We look for different indicators, have knowledge of the history of the area, and Bob’s geology sure comes in handy!

The closer you are to the source of the gold, the more likely you are to find nuggets. Gold is heavy and even in our spring run-off it drops out when the water slows, maybe the ravine widens or it hits an obstacle.
One area known for nuggets is Bear Gulch, mostly private property. The surrounding area, however, should have some of the same characteristics to look for when prospecting. Look at this as a guide to that region and what to look for in nearby gulches.

Black Hills Times Aug. 19, 1880 – “But few men know anything about the Bear Gulch region, although it is one of the first gold camps that was opened up in the Hills. There are certain laws that govern all formations in every mining camp we have ever been in, but in this one the old established theories are all at fault. "It is agreed upon by all old miners that in all placer claims wash gravel is an important factor, and without it there is no use in looking for placer gold.

Placer mines in California and all other countries we know any thing about, have been found in gulches, river beds, the beds of extinct rivers and ravines, but in all of them there have been evidences of the action of water, in the form of boulders and wash gravel, that give evidence of having run over it and deposited the precious metal with the debris carried with it.


“In the Bear gulch district it is entirely different. On the surface of the gulches, and in fact the whole country even to the top of the highest hills, you will find as deep a soil composed of black loam as you will find in any part of the Mississippi valley, and under this you will find a clay subsoil in all respects like the subsoil underlying the country we have mentioned, and this clay goes down to within a few inches of the bedrock, and in the upper stratas there is not a color of gold to be found, but on the bedrock, and in the few inches of intervening material, the pay is to be found. There seems to be but little difference between the gulches and the hills. The formation and extent is about the same, and the pay streak about alike.
“There are thousands of acres of ground that is now covered with a dense growth of pine timber, that with water would give a handsome return to the miner, but the water is what at present is lacking.”