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Vallecito Mining District, Calaveras Co., California, USAi
Regional Level Types
Vallecito Mining DistrictMining District
Calaveras Co.County
CaliforniaState
USACountry

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07884950014977666519772.jpg
Pyrite

Red Hill Mine, Vallecito, Vallecito Mining District, Calaveras Co., California, USA
07884950014977666519772.jpg
Pyrite

Red Hill Mine, Vallecito, Vallecito Mining District, Calaveras Co., California, USA
07884950014977666519772.jpg
Pyrite

Red Hill Mine, Vallecito, Vallecito Mining District, Calaveras Co., California, USA
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
38° North , 120° West (est.)
Estimate based on other nearby localities or region boundaries.
Margin of Error:
~54km
GRN:
N26W68
Locality type:
Mining District
KΓΆppen climate type:
Csa : Hot-summer Mediterranean climate


Location: Vallecito is in south-central Calaveras County about five miles east of Angels Camp and five miles south of Murphys. It a placer-mining district and includes the Douglas Flat and Dead Horse Flat areas.

History: Daniel and John Murphy found gold here in 1848, and the district was first known as Murphys' Old Diggins. The name was changed to Vallecito in 1854. The hydraulic mines were active from the late 1850s through the 1880s. Drift mining was done at this time and again during the 1930s, when the Vallecito Western drift mine was operated on a fairly large scale. Dragline dredging was active in the district during the 1930s.

Geology: The Tertiary Central Hill channel enters the district from the north from Murphys and then extends west toward Altaville and Angels Camp. Here the channel is joined by two small tributaries from the east and south, the one from the east known as the Murphy's Gulch channel. Farther east is the south-trending Cataract channel. The gravels, consisting of granitic material and quartz, were richest near bedrock. The gold was fairly coarse. The gravels are overlain in places by rhyolite and andesite and also by some Pleistocene gravels. Bedrock is limestone, schist, slate, and amphibolite, and to the west there is granodiorite.

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.


Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

11 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!

Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

Select Rock List Type

Alphabetical List Tree Diagram

Detailed Mineral List:

β“˜ Ankerite
Formula: Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2
Description: Occurs as ankerite-talc schist.
Reference: USGS (2005), Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS): U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, loc. file ID #10109165.
β“˜ Aragonite
Formula: CaCO3
Reference: Murdoch, Joseph & Robert W. Webb (1966), Minerals of California, Centennial Volume (1866-1966): California Division Mines & Geology Bulletin 189: 81.
β“˜ 'Chlorite Group'
Reference: Murdoch, Joseph & Robert W. Webb (1966), Minerals of California, Centennial Volume (1866-1966): California Division Mines & Geology Bulletin 189: 169.
β“˜ Chromite
Formula: Fe2+Cr3+2O4
Reference: Murdoch, Joseph & Robert W. Webb (1966), Minerals of California, Centennial Volume (1866-1966): California Division Mines & Geology Bulletin 189: 169.
β“˜ Diaspore
Formula: AlO(OH)
Description: Occurs as good crystals with chlorite in chromite.
Reference: Murdoch, Joseph & Robert W. Webb (1966), Minerals of California, Centennial Volume (1866-1966): California Division Mines & Geology Bulletin 189: 169.
β“˜ Gold
Formula: Au
Localities: Reported from at least 51 localities in this region.
Reference: Mineralogical Record (1982): 13: 386.
β“˜ Hematite
Formula: Fe2O3
Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.
β“˜ 'Hornblende'
Description: Occurs as a large mass of hornblende rock.
Reference: Murdoch, Joseph & Robert W. Webb (1966), Minerals of California, Centennial Volume (1866-1966): California Division Mines & Geology Bulletin 189: 65.
β“˜ Magnetite
Formula: Fe2+Fe3+2O4
Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.
β“˜ Platinum
Formula: Pt
Description: Placer material.
Reference: USGS (2005), Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS): U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, loc. file ID #10038060.
trans.png
Pyrite

Red Hill Mine, Vallecito, Vallecito Mining District, Calaveras Co., California, USA
β“˜ Pyrite
Formula: FeS2
Description: Auriferous material.
Reference: USGS (2005), Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS): U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, loc. file ID #10029078.
β“˜ Quartz
Formula: SiO2
Localities: Reported from at least 12 localities in this region.
Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.
β“˜ Talc
Formula: Mg3Si4O10(OH)2
Description: A component of schist.
Reference: USGS (2005), Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS): U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, loc. file ID #10029078.

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
β“˜Gold1.AA.05Au
β“˜Platinum1.AF.10Pt
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
β“˜Pyrite2.EB.05aFeS2
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
β“˜Chromite4.BB.05Fe2+Cr3+2O4
β“˜Diaspore4.FD.10AlO(OH)
β“˜Hematite4.CB.05Fe2O3
β“˜Magnetite4.BB.05Fe2+Fe3+2O4
β“˜Quartz4.DA.05SiO2
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
β“˜Ankerite5.AB.10Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2
β“˜Aragonite5.AB.15CaCO3
Group 9 - Silicates
β“˜Talc9.EC.05Mg3Si4O10(OH)2
Unclassified Minerals, Rocks, etc.
β“˜'Chlorite Group'-
β“˜'Hornblende'-

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hβ“˜ DiasporeAlO(OH)
Hβ“˜ TalcMg3Si4O10(OH)2
CCarbon
Cβ“˜ AragoniteCaCO3
Cβ“˜ AnkeriteCa(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2
OOxygen
Oβ“˜ QuartzSiO2
Oβ“˜ MagnetiteFe2+Fe23+O4
Oβ“˜ HematiteFe2O3
Oβ“˜ AragoniteCaCO3
Oβ“˜ DiasporeAlO(OH)
Oβ“˜ ChromiteFe2+Cr23+O4
Oβ“˜ TalcMg3Si4O10(OH)2
Oβ“˜ AnkeriteCa(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2
MgMagnesium
Mgβ“˜ TalcMg3Si4O10(OH)2
Mgβ“˜ AnkeriteCa(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2
AlAluminium
Alβ“˜ DiasporeAlO(OH)
SiSilicon
Siβ“˜ QuartzSiO2
Siβ“˜ TalcMg3Si4O10(OH)2
SSulfur
Sβ“˜ PyriteFeS2
CaCalcium
Caβ“˜ AragoniteCaCO3
Caβ“˜ AnkeriteCa(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2
CrChromium
Crβ“˜ ChromiteFe2+Cr23+O4
FeIron
Feβ“˜ MagnetiteFe2+Fe23+O4
Feβ“˜ HematiteFe2O3
Feβ“˜ ChromiteFe2+Cr23+O4
Feβ“˜ PyriteFeS2
Feβ“˜ AnkeriteCa(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2
PtPlatinum
Ptβ“˜ PlatinumPt
AuGold
Auβ“˜ GoldAu

References

Sort by

Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A)
Storms, William H. (1894), Ancient Channel System of Calaveras County: California Mining Bureau (Report 12): 482-492.
Turner, Henry Ward & F.L. Ransome (1898), Description of the gold belt; description of the Big Trees sheet, California: USGS Geologic Atlas, Big Trees folio (Folio No. 51), 8 pp.
Lindgren, Waldemar (1911), The Tertiary gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California: USGS Professional Paper 73, 226 pp.: 199-201.
Steffa, Donald (1932), Gold mining and milling methods and costs at the Vallecito Western drift mine: U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 6612, 13 pp.
Franke, Herbert A. & C.A. Logan (1936), Mines and mineral resources of Calaveras County: California Division Mines (Report 32): 32: 353-355.
Clark, Wm. B. & P.A. Lydon (1962), Mines and mineral resources of Calaveras County, California: California Division of Mines & Geology County Report 2; [… Geological Society of America Proceedings, 1933: 312-313, 1934]: 32-93.
Clark, Wm. B. (1970a) Gold districts of California: California Division Mines & Geology Bulletin 193: 126.

Localities in this Region

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