Beach Gold #1

     All beaches have lost gold but to test for placer gold I found a simple way. My first beach gold wasn't more than two micro-fines but they confirmed gold was there other than lost gold. They were recovered from 1/4 inch long moss on a buried rock that was accidentally scooped up when I was collecting a thin lens of black sand.  Other rocks with moss produced more very small colors, confirming placer gold was on the beaches of Solana Beach, California. This was super small gold, not worth panning or destroying the moss on the rocks. I was very happy, at the time I lived just a walk away from the beach. My next goal was to find beach gold worth panning for, like a normal sized color. A small rock and sand filled pothole didn't produce anything, it seemed right and if found along a gold producing river it should have had gold and lead. Later I realized it was too close to the pounding heavy surf on the abrasion platform to retain gold, the big surf would scour out the pot hole which was about 40 yards out from the cliff at Table Tops, the northern beach in Solana Beach. I would have better luck further south at and closer to the southern end of the beaches of the city.

    The nearest producing gold mine had been in southern Escondido, about twelve air miles up San Dieguito (deegueeto) Creek, but Escondido had other gold mines in that area too, plus the 60 foot cliffs in Solana Beach were simi-consolidated beach sand also a potential source of placer gold.