Prince William Sound Region Gold Panning

Source: Gold Fever Prospecting — Alaska Gold Prospecting Locations. Compiled by Tom Ashworth (Prospectors Cache / goldfeverprospecting.com). Documented placer gold or recreational panning area. Map coordinates are approximate (region centroid or geocoded place name). Verify claim status, private land, and current regulations before prospecting. Many large areas in Alaska are withdrawn from mineral entry. Prince William Sound Region Alaska Prince William Sound is on the southern coast of Alaska east of the Kenai Peninsula and is mapped on the Valdez and Cordova USGS quadrangles. This is the famed area where the oil tanker "Exxon Valdez" ran aground and caused the worst environmental catastrophe in United States History, by spilling some 10 million gallons of crude oil. Within the restricted area between the Chugach Mountains on the north and the waters of the sound lie the notable gold and copper mining centers of Port Wells, Port Valdez and Ellamar. Between 1894, when placer gold was discovered near Valdez, through 1956, a total of 137,600 ounces of gold was produced from lode and placer sources.