Reported By: Dan King — Kittitas County

Source: Tom Ashworth's Prospectors Cache (tomashworth.com / Mike Higbee / 49erMike). Author: Tom Ashworth. Original page: kittitas_wa.shtml. State index: https://web.archive.org/web/20040830075749/http://www.tomashworth.com/goldloc.shtml Area: Reported By: Dan King. Map coordinates are an approximate county centroid — not a precise claim site. The Liberty Mining District in the Central Cascades of Washington State has consistently produced gold. The first discovery was in the late 1800's, and over the years the area has seen everything from hard rock mining to bucket line dredges. Currently removed from active claiming, the area is open to anyone who wants to give prospecting a try. The area starts at the bridge on highway 97 over Swauk Creek just south of the Liberty turnoff and is open almost up to the pass. Any part of the creek within 200 feet of the highway has been removed from mineral entry and is open for panning, sluicing, dredging and highbanking. Permits are required however for any movement of material by mechanical means. (i.e. dredge and highbanker) Permits are available from the State offices in Olympia. The area is known for its "Wire Gold", but the finds today are rather small specimens. Mostly, the finds range from specks to small nuggets, especially since we had a couple of floods over the last few winters that moved new material into the streambeds. However there are still a few rare, large nuggets found that weigh in ounces rather than dwt. ADD INFORMATION ON A GOLD BEARING LOCATION