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Gold Districts in Calaveras County
Alto
The district of Alto is located in the southwestern Calaveras County close to a town called Poker Flat. A great deal of the mining that was done in the past was done by drifting the gravels that were under Table Mountain. In 1886 the first quartz mining was done at the Alto Mine. The gavels in this area still have a little bit of gold in them.
Angels Camp
The district of Angels Camp used to be considered one of the most important camps in the Mother Lode. This camp was named after one of two brothers, Henry and George Anel; some say it was named after George, some say it was named after Henry…. it largely depends on who is telling the story.
The placers in Angels Camp were some of the first ones that were discovered in the Mother Lode. The lodes that were found were discovered in 1850 and one of the main sources of the gold that was mined in this district was quartz. The mines are located on either side of the town. Angel’s Camp is located on Highway 49.
Blue Mountain
You can get to the District of Blue Mountain by taking the road east, off the Railroad Flat Road, between Railroad Flat and Wilseyville. Some times outcroppings of dark quartz can be found here so keep an open eye for this. Blue Mountain has been known to have gold bearing ores.
Calaveritas
For those that are interested in getting to the district of Calaveritas, you can get to this placer mining district by taking the Ficot City road east off Highway 49 just a few miles north of Altaville. Calaveritas Creek is one place you could consider looking into as it has not been as touched as other places have in this area.
Camanche
The district of Camanche has been taken over by the Camanche Reservoir Recreation Area. The gravels in Camanche used to be very extensive and they used to range from six to fifty feet deep. At the beginning the placers here used to be worked by hand and then by hydraulicing and later on by bucket line dredges.
Campo Seco
The district of Campo Seco also consists of the area of Valley Springs. This district has both lode and placer gold and some copper has been mined in this area as well. There is a well know of mine here called the Penn Copper Mine. This mine has produced over 60,000 ounces of gold as a by product.
The area of Valley Springs can be reached by going west out of San Andreas in Highway 12. To get to Campo Seco you will need to take Waterton Road north out of Valley Springs to Campo Seco Road then take a left and two miles further down is Campo Seco.
Carson Hill
Carson Hill is also known as the Melones District. Melones is a word in Spanish that means melons and this name was given to the area due to the melon seed shape of the placer gold that was found in the area.
James Carson found gold on Carson Creek in 1848 and the gold quartz vein that was very rich of the Morgan Mine was found in 1850. A great number of rich surface pockets have been found in this area. One of the pockets had around $110,000 worth of gold.
A nugget of 195 pounds was also found on Carson Hill in 1854. The New Melones Dam caused a part of this district to not have any further exploration. This district is located on the north of the Stanislaus River on Highway 49.
