Copyright © 2004  by Ana Minerva Bonilla                                               Updated: 8/3/05 14:06

The Weekend Miner

(http://theweekendminer.com)

San Francisco County

California

San Francisco Beach :

Bulletin 193(1998), California Division of Mines and Geology, p180 : “Gold occurs as fine grains in the black sands on the beach at San Francisco. From 1938 to 1950 gold was produced at the beach by people who used small washing plants. From 1938 to 1941 the recorded production was valued at about $13,000 (370+ troy ounces, today about $140,000). The most productive part of the beach was south of the Fleishhacker Zoo, and the gold was most plentiful immediately after heavy winter storms. Several narrow gold-bearing quartz veins have been found in metamorphic rocks in the general area.”

2004, August Update : Today this area lies within the Golden Gate Recreational Area and mining, panning or metal detecting is not allowed on this beach. It a section of Ocean Beach.