The La Paz Gold Placers

The La Paz placer deposits can be located on the west side end of the Dome Rock Mountains and are close to five miles east of the Colorado River. This area does not have a lot of water and this has affected the production, however, this fact is true with nearly all of the deposits that are located in Arizona. The La Paz placers are one of the richest fields that can be found in Arizona and a good amount of gold has been obtained from this area and big size gold nuggets have been found as well. The Indians were aware of the gold that existed in this area for a long time, however white man only discovered the gold in this area in 1862. There was a nice Indian that showed the deposits to Pauline Weaver who was a famous trapper and scout. Weaver’s group was able to accumulate $8,000 in just a matter of days. When the group had gone to Yuma to get some supplies, somehow others had heard about the deposits and a rush started. Prospectors and miners from all over different areas and countries started to invade the area and work on the rich gravels. This caused the town of La Paz to spring up with life and soon enough it had a population of around 1,500 people. La Paz also turned into a regular stop of the Overland Stage and was county seat until 1871. There is nothing left though there now. It has been estimated that over one million dollars worth of gold was taken out of the area the first year. During that time the gold was sold at $17 an ounce. One man by the name of Juan Ferra found a single nugget that weighed forty seven and a half ounces in this area as well. Incredibly enough the expensive thing during the rush was water as it was sold at five dollars per gallon. Gold can still be found in this area in the gravel deposits in Goodman Arroyo and Arroyo La Paz, as well as in the tributary gulches that run into the arroyos. The area that has produced the most amount of gold though is Ferrar Gulch.

The Trigo placers
The Trigo placers are located on the far south on the western slope of the Dome Rock Mountains. There have been several miners and prospectors that have tried to dry wash the much cemented gravels but have never been able to do so successfully.