Alaska's State Mineral EarthCache
Tundra-quad: No container. Earthcache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
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Cache is located at a large pull out along the Steese Highway. This
cache was created to help people learn a little about Alaska's
State Mineral - GOLD. Here you
will be able to find information about the history and the gold
geology of the area.
This is a great location to visit in the summer. Bring along a gold
pan. Panning for gold in the creek is allowed and chances are on a
nice day you'll have company. Would have liked to have made finding
some "color" a requirement to log, but
I can not guarantee you'll find some. If you give it a try, please
post a pic.
Felix Pedro is discovered gold here and in many nearby locations.
This claim was filed in Circle City in 1902. Fairbanks has a week
long celebrations called fittingly "Golden Days" in July.
Activities include the largest parade in the state, a rubber ducky
race, and a poke weigh-in re-enactment.
There are a couple of locations nearby in Fox that offer tours and
are informative on the local gold mining history. In both
directions from this cache sit old gold dredges from a by gone era
of gold mining operations. Dredging started in the area in the
1920’s. Tailings left over from these operations are seen along the
road on the way to this location. Gold Dredge 3 is towards
Chatanika and has a cache nearby. Gold Dredge 8 is in Fox and
offers tours with gold panning lessons.
Just over the hill is Fort Knox Gold Mine which is in current
operation. Fort Knox is an open pit mine that produces 370,000 gold
ounces per year.
Gold is relatively scarce in the earth, which influences its value.
The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in
alluvial deposits. Gold is concentrated by geologic processes to
form deposits of two principal types: lode (primary) deposits and
placer (secondary) deposits.
Alluvial action is at work here. The stream bed is bordered by
steep hills on three sides. The water picks up and drops material
along its length. Where and when the current is fast, more material
is picked up. Places the current slows, the material is deposited.
These locations are called alluvium. Lots of new material is
exposed and relocated after heavy rains and spring thaw making
these times prime for prospecting. Large rivers form huge alluvium
commonly referred to as flood plains and deltas. But even small
streams form them and that is where heavier ores can be
found.
Gold’s density is higher than most other material, even denser than
lead. That is why panning is a simple, but effective method to find
gold. A small amount of material (dirt, rocks, sand) is placed in a
gold pan. Panning can be done dry, but works better with water.
Slosh water around in the pan and wash away the lighter material.
Pick up and remove larger rocks. Gold pans have ridges in one side
to help trap the gold. This adaptation is thought to have been
brought to America by Chinese working the California gold rush.
Continue to slosh the water over the edges of the pan, leaving
behind the heavy darker sands and hopefully some gold.
Gold will not rust in air or water and has many uses other than
art, jewelry, and coins. Because of its properties gold is used in
electronics, dentistry, and more.
Hope you enjoyed visiting this location and learning something
about Alaska’s State Mineral –
GOLD!
Being an Earthcache there is NO LOG to sign. The answers to
the following questions will not be found on information boards.
Use the information provided above and your powers of observation.
To get credit for this cache e-mail Tundra-Quad the answer to the
following questions:
1. What type of gold deposit is found in Pedro Creek?
2. Please post a photo from somewhere nearby. You don’t have to be
in it if you’re camera shy, but a date stamp would be great. This
is to confirm you visited the location.
3. What type of features in the creek improves the odds of finding
gold?
The
Geological Society of America (GSA) EarthCache Project -
Learn about the EarthCache Master Program: earn
Bronze/Silver/
Gold/Platinum status,
with an EarthCache Master Pin awarded at each level!
REMINDER This is an EarthCache - without a container or
logbook - where you'll document your observations and understanding
via email and a posted photograph to earn credit for this cache.
Logs which do not conform to these requirements will be deleted, as
this cache requires a demonstrated acquisition of knowledge. Read
all the requirements for completing this cache before you visit,
and take a camera for the required photo. Please do not post any of
your answers in your log. Email the answers separately via my
profile.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
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