The Alpha Diggings is a hydraulic mine located in
Nevada County, CA about 15 miles east of Nevada
City between Highway 20 and the small town of
Washington. At least 1.25 megabucks ($20/oz) worth
of gold was mined during the gold rush and prospectors
are still getting gold today. Gold can be had by
highbanking in the spring, drywashing in the summer and fall,
plus panning and metal detecting any
time (well, at 4000', it can get nasty in the winter). There
is water most of the year but it is only in
ponds so sluice boxes are out. It is easy to get to and there are some nice camping spots.
Alpha is
the best place I have found for those just getting into metal detecting for gold or for trying out a
new detector. There is very little ground mineralization and the ground doesn't change much from
place to place. You can pretty much set your ground balance and forget it. Unfortunately, it has
been hit very hard by nugget shooters and it is getting harder and harder to find gold with a
detector.
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