Gold in California

Our Gold in California panning map shows there are currently 17,911 active gold mining claims and 17,332 abandoned claims located throughout the state. Of those active claims, 9,467 are lode claims and 8,444 are placer claims. Of those abandoned claims, 10,091 are lode and 7,241 are placer. Gold in california's active gold mining claims represent about 5% of all gold claims in America.

	When you first open the Gold in California map you will see a satellite view of the state with little yellow clusters throughout. Those yellow clusters represent areas where you’ll find high concentrations of active gold mining claims. This view of these yellow clusters gives us an incredibly precise view of where most of Gold in california is being found. This near real-time look at these gold bearing areas is simply not possible with traditional fold-out paper maps.
	Now zoom in about 90 miles NE of Sacramento to a little resort town called Bucks Lake. You can clearly see the active (yellow) and abandoned (blue) gold mining claims boundaries throughout the area. You are now on public land in the Plumas National Forest. That means you can find dozens of non-claimed public gold in California panning sites for you and your family to try your luck at. The boundaries shown are accurate to within feet of what you’ll see at ground level.
	Zoom in further still and you can click on any active or abandoned gold claim for ownership and other information about the claim. This information is to help those prospectors wanting to establish their own claims. Recreational gold panners should not try to contact claim holders and always stay away from claimed property. Use the claims to guide you to where the action is but always respect the property rights of others.
	Still looking at the Bucks Lake area, turn on the Google Earth™ overlay entitled Places of Interest. Now you can see Plumas National Forest campgrounds, ranger stations, hiking trails, hotels and stores. You can zoom in further still to get a birds-eye view of roads, creeks and other points of interest. Using Google Earth™ satellite imagery, altitude and distance measuring tools will eliminate most surprises like, “I didn’t know that hill was so steep.”

California Gold Panning Notes: None of the Gold in California images above show just how close you can zoom in to see gold in California panning sites. You’ll be amazed at how crisp the satellite imagery is and how much exploring and planning you can do from the comfort of your home. And Google Earth™ is a free download.