California Could See Its Biggest Gold Rush in 175 Years

The Sierra Nevada in Northern California may see an influx of tourists and amateur prospectors after heavy winter rains have released what some experts think could be the most gold found in the area since the California Gold Rush. And this "Gold Rush 2.0," as some are calling it, is only expected to pick up steam as warmer spring weather causes heavy blankets of mountain snow to melt down into streams and rivers.

Exacerbated by raging wildfires in recent years, the flooding is expected to wash the gold out of already-loosened soil. Some hobbyists, such as firefighter-turned-treasure-hunter Mark Dayton, are already gleefully hunting for gold in them thar hills.

“When it melts, it comes rushing down at crazy speeds through narrow gorges and canyons, and it’s a torrent of raging water. This is even crazier than whitewater,” Dayton recently told The Hill. “What happens is the material is being ripped literally right off the walls of the creeks as they reshape themselves."

Aptly nicknamed "the Golden State," California saw its first gold rush some 175 years ago when James Marshall, a carpenter from New Jersey, noticed some glinting metal in the water where he was building a sawmill about 36 miles northeast of Sacramento. His discovery led to an influx of around 300,000 settlers flocking to the state—named the "Forty-Niners" after the year 1849, which hit peak Gold Rush immigration.

Most forms of gold mining have since been outlawed in California, so gold seekers are now relegated to using tools such as pans and metal detectors in an attempt to hit it big. Dayton expects that panning and sluicing will be the way to go in the early summer months, but "metal detectors will rule the world" after the waters begin to recede around August or September.

And with the price of gold skyrocketing to over $2,000 per ounce, some feel that the dedication is worth it.

Tony Watley, president of the Gold Country Treasure Seekers Club, told The New York Times last month that it was going to be a "magnificent year" for gold hunting, after one member who attended the March meeting displayed two pounds of gold nuggets found with a metal detector.

“There was $50,000 of gold up at that table,” said Dayton, who is also a regular at the club. “We’ve had more gold in the last two meetings than I’ve seen in the last two years.”

Still, the so-called Gold Rush 2.0 has also drawn some skeptics. Northern California geologist and historian David Lawler pointed out some of the downsides of gold hunting, such as the strict permitting and backbreaking work. "With any kind of gold rush, anyone hoping to get rich will most likely be disappointed," Lawler told SF Gate.

Not to mention, the whole thing might end up being a bust anyway.

"What you’re hoping is that Mother Nature would just expose a little bit more [gold] for you and save you the trouble,” Lawler added. "No, she also takes what she wants and moves it up and out of sight, and all of a sudden, reconfigures the damn stream. So it works both ways."

But for some hobbyists, that's all inconsequential. Even without hitting it big, just being outside surrounded by nature is worth the effort. As retired mining executive Barron Brandon told the Times, "the true gold is just being out here."