Size of Material in Flowing Stream

The following are the different velocities in which a certain size of material can be carried down by a flowing stream:

• 3 in. per sec. = 0.170 mph will only start to work on fine clay.

• 6 in. per sec. = 0.340 mph will raise fine sand.

• 8 in per sec. = 0.4545 mph will lifts sand that is as course as linseed.

• 10 in per sec. = 0.5 mph will lift grave that has the size of a pea.

• 12 in per sec. = 0.6819 mph will carry along gravel the size of beans.

• 24. in per sec. = 1.3638 mph will roll along round pebbles that are 1 inch in diameter.

• 3 ft. per sec = 2.045 mph will sweep along slippery and pointed stones the size of hen eggs. 

When it comes to grade, a grade that ranges from thirty to around one hundred feet per mile will help the disposition of gold. Anywhere that the grade is higher than that, like in narrow canyons or mountain streams, it will not be an appropriate source of placer deposits. After a streams goes out of a its mountain canyons and goes into a more level country or a stiller body of water, the material that was carried along by the stream is deposited or placed in the form of a fan. At the peak of this fan is where the fine gold will be deposited and it might never actually reach the bedrock. The action that happens in the rugged mountains during flooding season that allows the gold to reach the bedrock does not happen in the fan. Remember keep in mind that the gold is heavier then almost every other material in the stream bed and it will fall anywhere the flow or grade changes and will cause the stream to slow down or lose its power to carry it. This is the type of place that should be searched out. Keep in mind that with every rainy season it will cause more gold to come down from the hillsides into the stream beds. Something else that should be kept in mind is that in the past the early miners were working on deposits that had literally sat for thousands of years and had time to accumulate and develop. These days it is difficult to find that because there are practically no areas that have not been worked on. The best option is to locate the places that have not been worked on and try to get to the places that are difficult to get to, as they probably have not been worked on either.