Potholes Mining District, Chocolate Mountains, Imperial County, California, USAi
Regional Level Types | |
---|---|
Potholes Mining District | Mining District |
Chocolate Mountains | Mountain Range |
Imperial County | County |
California | State |
USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
32° 50' 11'' North , 114° 30' 17'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
KΓΆppen climate type:
Mindat Locality ID:
210836
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:210836:3
GUID (UUID V4):
c869b88e-7459-49ef-966f-888959c5d27e
A hydraulic placer Au mining area located in T15S, R23E, SBM, in the SE Chocolate Mountains, SE corner of the county, near the Colorado River, about 50 miles east of El Centro and 10 miles NE of Yuma, Arizona, W of the Laguna Dam. Nearly all of the gold produced here has come from dry desert placer deposits. The value of the total output is estimated at $2 million. The district was so named because the gold was found in small depressions or pots. Small-scale mining began here in 1775-1780, when California was under Spanish rule, and continued into the early 1800's when the state was under Mexican rule. The most productive period, apparently from the 1860's to the early 1890's, saw as many as 500 Mexicans and Indians working the dry washes. Winnowing was with blankets, and, later, hand-operated bellows-type dry washers were employed. Nearly all of these were one or two-man operations. When a deposit was worked out the miners would move on to another one, usually in the same district. These operations had mostly ceased by 1900, as the deposits were largely exhausted. Later, several attempts were made here and in the Cargo Muchacho and Chocolate Mountain districts to the west to work the dry placers by large-scale methods. All of these attempts failed because of high equipment and operating costs, erratic distribution of gold values, rough terrain, and scant moisture, which even in desert placers, makes it difficult to separate the heavy and light particles. Also, much of the easily recoverable gold had already been removed from these deposits.
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Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities5 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
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Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities
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Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
β Gold Formula: Au Description: Placer material. |
β Hematite Formula: Fe2O3 Description: Occurs in quartz. |
β Hematite var. Specularite Formula: Fe2O3 Description: Occurs in quartz. |
β Kaolinite Formula: Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 Description: Alteration product of feldspar in arkose. |
β Quartz Formula: SiO2 Description: Brecciated vein material. |
β Siderite Formula: FeCO3 Description: Occurs in quartz. |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
Group 1 - Elements | |||
---|---|---|---|
β | Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
β | Hematite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
β | var. Specularite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
β | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
β | Siderite | 5.AB.05 | FeCO3 |
Group 9 - Silicates | |||
β | Kaolinite | 9.ED.05 | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
H | Hydrogen | |
---|---|---|
H | β Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
C | Carbon | |
C | β Siderite | FeCO3 |
O | Oxygen | |
O | β Hematite | Fe2O3 |
O | β Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
O | β Quartz | SiO2 |
O | β Siderite | FeCO3 |
O | β Hematite var. Specularite | Fe2O3 |
Al | Aluminium | |
Al | β Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
Si | Silicon | |
Si | β Kaolinite | Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4 |
Si | β Quartz | SiO2 |
Fe | Iron | |
Fe | β Hematite | Fe2O3 |
Fe | β Siderite | FeCO3 |
Fe | β Hematite var. Specularite | Fe2O3 |
Au | Gold | |
Au | β Gold | Au |
Localities in this Region
- California
- Imperial County
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North America
- Sonoran DesertDesert
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Basin and Range BasinsBasin
- Mojave DomainDomain
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