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After enduring months of damaging flood waters and record amounts of snow, Californians can now look forward to a summer treasure hunt! According to The Hill, snow is beginning to melt and carve through mountains at a rapid rate, causing creeks to be entirely reshaped and gold to reveal itself from within gorges and canyons. Sacramento Valley metal detector expert Mark Dayton explained the extent of this "generational" phenomenon.
"It’s one of those 100-years events. This is even crazier than whitewater." He also mentioned that the intensity of the water will be so extreme that it will break down the rock, exposing gold that has been hidden within the hills for the last few centuries.
So, where can we find all of this gold?
Dayton revealed that small gold pieces will be discoverable in shallow waters across the Sacramento Valley near Coloma, while larger pieces will remain at higher altitudes. Albert Fausel owns a hardware store in Placerville located mere miles from the initial site of the original Gold Rush that began in 1848. He told The Hill that people are planning to visit from all over the country in pursuit of the newly exposed gold, giving rise to a "mini gold rush" of sorts.
“I have a lot of people coming from all over. They’re looking for places to go, they’re planning their family vacations out here. I try kind of guiding them to local campsites, to good places to find gold, to the right tools to find gold — like gold pans or metal detectors." Fausel recommend that visitors plan their trips for early June to allow time for water levels to drop.