Rock types, river features and regions where gold tends to collect.
Where to Find Gold
Black sand is a mix of heavy minerals that travels with gold in streams. Learn what it is made of, what it tells you about a spot and how to separate fine gold from it without losing any.
Where to Find Gold
Alaska still has active placer mining and some of the best recreational panning in the US. Here are the main regions, public panning areas and the realities of prospecting in the far north.
Where to Find Gold
Australia has produced some of the largest gold nuggets ever found. Here is a guide to Victoria's Golden Triangle, Western Australia's goldfields and other regions, plus the licences you need in each state.
Where to Find Gold
Canada's best-known gold country lies in British Columbia and the Yukon. Here is where hobbyists can pan legally, from BC's recreational panning reserves to Free Claim #6 in the Klondike.
Where to Find Gold
Gold shows up in a handful of rock types again and again. Learn which rocks are worth checking, what the gold-bearing versions look like and which common rocks are usually a waste of time.
Where to Find Gold
From rusty gossans and quartz float to old mine workings and place names, these ten clues help you narrow down where gold might be before you lift a shovel.
Where to Find Gold
Gold collects in predictable places in a stream. Learn how floods move it, where it settles and how to test a creek quickly so you dig where the gold actually is.
Where to Find Gold
Arizona's gold is mostly found in dry desert placers and the mountains of Yavapai County. Learn the main districts, the tools that work in dry ground and how to check land status.
Where to Find Gold
California's gold rush country still produces gold for patient prospectors. Here are the main regions, the geology behind them and the rules you need to know, including the suction dredging ban.
Where to Find Gold
Nevada produces most of America's gold, but most of it is invisible. Learn which Nevada gold you can actually find as a hobbyist, the main districts and how to avoid trespassing on claims.