How to Pan for Gold in a River
During the 1800s, masses of people made their way to California to pan for gold during the famous California Gold Rush. Although in modern times panning for gold may no longer draw in the masses, it is still an activity in which many people participate each year. Panning for gold is a fun, unique activity, and a great way to spend an afternoon with some friends.
Instructions
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Locate a good stream to pan for gold. An ideal area will be a shallow stream with an area of non-moving water nearby. The stream should be roughly six to twelve inches deep.
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Place your gold pan into the stream, gripping it firmly with both hands. Run it across the bottom until it is filled roughly three quarters to the top with rocks, mud, pebbles and silt.
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Take your pan to the area of water that isn't moving. Start by removing all of the larger objects and rocks by hand. Hold the pan under water and move it back and forth, allowing all of the silt, mud and lighter particles to float to the top and out of the pan. Use your fingers to continue digging through the particles in your pan, rooting out all of the larger, excess material.
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Shake your pan more under water. It may seem like any gold will come out, but due to its weight it will actually work its way down to the bottom of the pan. Tilt your pan forward and backward without spilling all of the contents. As you continue to shake, tilt, and weed out the extra material, the contents of the pan will gradually decrease until you eventually end up with fine, black sand and hopefully, gold.
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Use a magnet to help separate the black sand and other metals from the gold. Gold is not magnetic. When you have only the gold in your pan, use the funnel to pour it into a small glass bottle.
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Tips & Warnings
Try to find a log or stump to sit on, as this process can take a while and be very tiring if you do it squatting the whole time.
References
- Photo Credit Aaron Graubart/Digital Vision/Getty Images
