JOSEPHINE County Gold Locations

Source: Tom Ashworth's Prospectors Cache (tomashworth.com / Mike Higbee / 49erMike). Author: Tom Ashworth. Original page: josephine_or.shtml. State index: https://web.archive.org/web/20040830075749/http://www.tomashworth.com/goldloc.shtml Map coordinates are an approximate county centroid — not a precise claim site. JOSEPHINE COUNTY OREGON LOCATION COUNTY: Josephine County STATE: Oregon Josephine County lies in southwestern Oregon, bordering the Klamath Mountain region in California. Elevation of the area ranges from 150 to 7,055 feet above sea level, and annual precipitation varies from 30 to 70 inches, depending on elevation and exposure. Most precipitation falls in the winter months in the form of rain or snow, and much of the placer mining is done between February and September when streams are flowing. Higher elevations are in Siskiyou National Forest, with some streams being set aside as Wild and Scenic Rivers. Grants Pass (pop. 18,000) is on Interstate Highway 5 and is the only town of any consequence in the county. State and county roads serve part of the county, but ranchers and loggers gate many of the other roads. The Siskiyou Mountains are rugged and forested, with steep walled canyons. Many of the streams around Grants Pass have produced placer gold, but the area did not really get into production until lode deposits were discovered shortly before the turn of the century. Estimated total production has been set at about 22,000 ounces and the district is largely idle today. The area around the town of Galice includes many mining districts, both lode and placer. Placer operations have been predominant and this is the site of one of the state's largest hydraulic operations. The total minimum production has been estimated at nearly 270,000 ounces. The Greenback area includes placers on many of the streams in northeast Josephine County and a few scattered lode mines. The placers outstripped the lodes about ten to one. In recent years some small-scale placer activity has been reported but no estimates of the production given. Total output is around 55,000 ounces. The Illinois River area which includes portions of Josephine Creek and the Illinois River downstream from where the two meet, has not been extensively worked but Oregon officials estimate that at least 10,000 ounces of placer gold have been recovered. The amount of, lode gold from the area is probably less than 1,000 ounces. The Applegate District is a minor placer area by any standards this area is interesting in that most of its production has come from small-scale operations that continued today. It is in the southeastern section of Josephine County, includes the Applegate River and some of its tributaries. The most important of these were Oscar, Slate and Williams Creeks. Total production is unknown but it is estimated that the area must have produced around 12,000 ounces. The Waldo District is just west of Oregon Caves National Monument in southern Josephine County. Placers were discovered here in 1853, but were not worked for several years due to a lack of water. By 1900 all but low-grade values had been mined and the district was mined by hydraulicing. Some lode gold has been produced and some gold was reported as a byproduct from copper mines in the general area. Total production is estimated at about 215,000 ounces.