RVA-Beachcombers & Gold Panners Traditional Geocache

This cache takes you to the western border of Edmonton.  Prospectors Point is in Parkland County provides residents and tourists with great access in which to enjoy the North Saskatchewan River

This cache leads you to Prospectors Point. This is popular with beachcombers and gold panners alike. The long stretch of river you can walk beside is unique in the river valley. Prospectors have been searching for placer gold in the river systems of north-central Alberta since the mid-1800s. In the years since then, many of the richest deposits have probably been located and mined. This means that amateur prospectors today are unlikely to strike it rich. But searching for gold and reliving a little of Alberta’s history can still be fun. In Alberta, gold is almost always found as tiny particles mixed with streambed deposits of sand and gravel. These deposits are called "placers". Placer Gold: Millions of years of erosion and stream transportation have reduced placer gold to miniscule pieces, often called "flour gold". Normally, gold is associated with "black sand", which consists of tiny particles of other heavy minerals. Placer gold can range from light yellow to a dull, coppery yellow. It may also be covered with a film of iron oxide, giving it a rusty colour. Pyrite or "fools gold" can be distinguished from real gold because it is brittle and crushes easily.