How Do You Find California Gold Nuggets?
The earliest record of the discovery of a gold nugget is of a 17-pound gold nugget found at Lost Meadow Creek in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. North Carolina was the only gold-producing state until Jan. 24, 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in California, sparking the largest gold rush in recorded history, according to ceres.ca.gov. Today, modern-day recreational gold prospectors are combing the hills and streams for gold flakes and nuggets. Research areas where gold has been found in the past. Libraries, historical societies, state and federal land records, and the Bureau of Land Management can provide a wealth of data on areas of successful gold exploration. More than 500,000 people rushed to prospect the sand and gravel bars of the American River. More than 125 million ounces of gold was found during this incredible rush, but the gold prospectors of that glorious era didn’t get it all. More than 80 percent of the gold in California is still where nature deposited it
