What are the most interesting facts about the Fraser River?
Today the creek is well known in the gold panning circles with a number of gold prospectors reporting rich finds. 4. Lytton Lytton was established along Fraser River by some of the first people to arrive in British Columbia during the early days of the gold rush.
Is there gold in the Fraser River BC?
Gold Panning on the Fraser River, British Columbia British Columbia remains one of the largest gold producing provinces in all of Canada. Of particular interest to many prospectors today is the prevalence of placer gold in many creeks and rivers that can be found by very simple methods like panning and sluicing.
When did the Fraser Canyon gold rush start?
The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser River at present-day Lytton.
What is the significance of the mining town of Fraser?
Located just near the Confluence of the Fraser River and the Thompson River, the mining town was an important gold mining center during the Fraser River gold rush days.
How much gold was found in the Fraser River?
By the mid-1860s, the Fraser Rush collapsed, and British Columbia sank into a recession. In 1858, around 30,000 gold seekers flooded the banks of the Fraser River from Hope to just north of Lillooet in British Columbia's first significant gold rush....Fraser River Gold Rush.Published OnlineNovember 27, 2006Last EditedAugust 9, 2019Aug 9, 2019
Where was the most gold found in the Fraser River?
The major gold producers on the Fraser River included Boston Bar. This particular area was one the places where gold mining took place along the river and gold concentrations were particularly rich.
Is there gold in the lower Fraser?
The Fraser River was the site of the first gold discovery in British Columbia. This started what was referred to as the Fraser River gold rush which brought in miners from California and other places across the world. Today the river and its creeks still have gold waiting to be discovered by prospectors.
Can you gold pan on the Fraser River?
Fraser Canyon River Ranch is an anglers paradise located along the Middle Fraser River, surrounded by snow capped mountains and canyon vistas. We offer Sturgeon, Salmon, and Trout Fishing day trips and multi day all inclusive fishing packages as well as Gold Panning and Rock Hounding.
Where are gold nuggets in BC?
The following are recreational gold panning reserves that have been set aside for gold panners in the province: Barnes Creek, Cayoosh Creek, Erickson, Coldstream, Hope, Kennedy River, Kettle River, Lytton-Site 1, Lytton-Site 2, Princeton, Spruce Creek, Quesnel-Fraser River, Wild Horse River, and Yaletown.
Is there still gold in BC?
The British Columbia Geological Survey's MINFILE database lists over 3,380 occurrences for which gold is identified as the primary commodity. Of these, approximately 700 have recorded gold production (400 lode producers and 300 placer).
Where is the most gold found in BC?
The Cariboo is the richest placer area in BC. It lies east of the city of Quesnel, with most of the famous creeks around and between the towns of Wells (near the historic town of Barkerville) and the village of Likely. The history is wonderful and there are a lot of gold-bearing creeks.
Can I gold pan anywhere in BC?
You can pan for gold in any stream in BC if you use only a shovel and a gold pan, and you are not on/in a claim/lease, park, private property, reserve or First Nations land. See Hand Panning for more information. You may want to see the Placer Areas page and the Opportunities page.
Where is Fraser gold located?
British ColumbiaFraser Canyon Gold RushThe New Eldorado: "A Complete View of the Newly Discovered Goldfields"Duration1858 – c. 1927LocationFraser Canyon, British ColumbiaTypeGold rush
Where can I mine gold for free?
10 Free Gold Panning Areas in CaliforniaAuburn State Recreation Area. ... Butte Recreation Area. ... Columbia State Historic Park. ... Keyesville Recreational Mining Area. ... Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park. ... Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. ... Merced River. ... South Yuba River State Park.More items...
Can you metal detect for gold in BC?
There haven't been any significant metal detecting finds in British Columbia. The most you can get is Canadian, British, or even rarely, gold coins. Unfortunately, many detectorists choose to keep their finds a secret. In 2019, metal detectorist Tim Barkasy found two Canadian coins from the 1800s.
Do I need a permit to pan for gold in BC?
Anyone may pan for gold, using only a hand shovel and a gold pan, in any watercourse in BC except in or on a... ... without permission. The government has established a number of Recreational Panning Reserves for hand panning.
Where is Fraser gold located?
British ColumbiaFraser Canyon Gold RushThe New Eldorado: "A Complete View of the Newly Discovered Goldfields"Duration1858 – c. 1927LocationFraser Canyon, British ColumbiaTypeGold rush
Where was the gold rush in Canada?
western Yukon territoryKlondike gold rush, Canadian gold rush of the late 1890s. Gold was discovered on Aug. 17, 1896, near the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon rivers in western Yukon territory.
Where was the Cariboo Gold Rush located?
British ColumbiaCariboo gold rush, Canadian gold rush that took place in the remote, isolated Cariboo Mountains region of British Columbia between 1860 and 1863. It began when prospectors drawn from the Fraser River gold rush discovered gold on the Horsefly River.
What was the Fraser Rush?
Unlike the Cariboo Gold Rush (1861–67), which attracted many Canadians, the Fraser Rush was an extension of California mining society. By the 1850s, placer mining in California had depleted free gold. Miners accustomed to the glory days of the California Rush were marginalized by capital-intensive hydraulic mining.
What happened in the mid 1860s?
By the mid-1860s, the Fraser Rush collapsed, and British Columbia sank into a recession. Fraser River Gold Rush. An 1858 advertisement from a San Francisco newspaper claimed that merchants had succumbed to Fraser River “gold fever.”.
What was the cause of the Fraser Canyon War?
All Aboriginal lands of the southern interior were invaded by large companies of miners, triggering the Fraser Canyon War of 1858. As the summer wore on , miners disrupted Nlaka’pamux communities. The men mined gold without consulting Nlaka’pamux community leaders for permission, and threatened violence when challenged. Some of the miners committed acts of sexual violence against Nlaka’pamux women.
What prevented steamers from further ascending the Fraser River?
North of Yale, waterfalls and steep canyons prevented steamers from further ascending the Fraser River. Miners excluded from the dominant culture in the lower Fraser, such as the Chinese, Chileans, Hawaiians, African-Americans and other ethnic groups, established diggings beyond Yale.
Where did the gold miners come from?
About 80 per cent of the miners came from California. Yale, just downriver from Nlaka’pamux territory and formerly an HBC trading post, was quickly transformed into a cultural centre similar to 1850s San Francisco. The richest discoveries of fine flour gold occurred between Hope and Yale in the Fraser Canyon.
When did the Fraser River collapse?
By the mid-1860s, the Fraser Rush collapsed, and British Columbia sank into a recession. In 1858, around 30,000 gold seekers flooded the banks of the Fraser River from Hope to just north of Lillooet in British Columbia’s first significant gold rush.
When was the first gold rush?
August 9, 2019. In 1858, around 30,000 gold seekers flooded the banks of the Fraser River from Hope to just north of Lillooet in British Columbia ’s first significant gold rush.
What was the first gold mine in the Fraser River?
1. Boston Bar. Boston Bar was one of the earliest mining centers to be established in the Fraser River. It was a rich gold mine both along the river and in the nearby hills but once the gold rush died most of the miners left. Today it is marked by a small town of less than a thousand people.
Why is Yale a good place to visit?
When the gold in the river was depleted many of the miners moved to other places in search of other opportunities. Because of its rich history and great sceneries, Yale is a great tourist center along the Fraser River.
Where was the first gold found?
Fraser River Gold Panning. The Fraser River was the site of the first gold discovery in British Columbia. This started what was referred to as the Fraser River gold rush which brought in miners from California and other places across the world. Today the river and its creeks still have gold waiting to be discovered by prospectors.
Where is the mining town of Thompson?
Located just near the Confluence of the Fraser River and the Thompson River, the mining town was an important gold mining center during the Fraser River gold rush days. However, once the excitement of the gold rush died, the mining came to an end as most of the gold deposits around the center had been exhausted and many ...
Where was gold discovered?
Soon gold was discovered in Oregon and Idaho encouraging the prospectors to keep moving northwards. It wasn’t long before gold was found along the banks of the Fraser River. The first gold discovery in British Columbia was along the Fraser River in 1858. This triggered a major gold rush and in less than one year there were more than 30,000 miners ...
Where to find gold panners?
2. Yale. Yale is one of the most popular places for gold panners along the Fraser River. This small town of about 200 people was among the first settlement centers to be established along the river during the early days of the Fraser river gold rush.
How many miners were there in the gold rush?
Alfred Waddington, an entrepreneur and pamphleteer of the gold rush later infamous for the disastrous road-building expedition which led to the Chilcotin War of 1864, estimated there were 10,500 miners on the Fraser at the peak of the gold rush.
Where was the Gold Rush?
Duration. 1858 – c. 1927. Location. Fraser Canyon, British Columbia. Type. Gold rush. The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with ...
What was the cause of the Fraser Canyon War?
During the fall of 1858 , tensions increased between miners and the Nlaka'pamux, the First Nations people of the Canyon. This led to the Fraser Canyon War. Miners wary of venturing upriver beyond Yale began to use the Lakes Route to Lillooet instead, prompting Douglas to contract for the building of the Douglas Road, the Mainland Colony's first public works project. The governor arrived in Yale to accept the apologies of the Americans who had waged war on the natives. Wanting to make the British military and governmental presence more visible, Douglas appointed justices of the peace and also revised the slapdash mining rules which had emerged along the river. Troops to maintain order, however, were still in short supply.
What happened during the gold rush?
During the gold rush tens of thousands of prospectors from California flooded into the newly declared Colony of British Columbia and disrupted the established balance between the Hudson's Bay Company 's fur traders and indigenous peoples.
Who was the Chief Justice of the Goldfields?
Its potential to provoke United States annexation ambitions within the goldfields, prompted the governor to send newly appointed Chief Justice Begbie, the colony's chief of police Chartres Brew and a contingent of Royal Engineers and Royal Marines to intervene.
Who sent the gold ore to San Francisco?
Although the area had been mined for a few years, news of the strike spread to San Francisco when the governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island, James Douglas, sent a shipment of ore to that city's mint. People in San Francisco and the California gold fields greeted the news with excitement.
Was the Fort Colville Gold Rush a spin off of the Fraser Gold Rush?
The Fort Colville Gold Rush in Washington Territory was also a spin-off of the Fraser Gold Rush, as many miners from the Fraser headed there once news of the strike in US territory reached the mining camps. Many others moved on to a gold rush in Colorado.
What river was the first to find gold?
Thompson River. The discovery of coarse placer gold at the confluence of the Nicoamen and Thompson Rivers in 1857 sparked the Fraser River Gold Rush that a year later drew an estimated 20,000 prospectors.
Where is the gold rush in BC?
The lower Thompson River District is one of British Columbia’s more fascinating placer gold and platinum producing regions, primarily from Spence’s Bridge and Gold Pan Park, downstream to Lytton. Production commenced in 1857, however, in 1858, the gold rush shifted first to the Fraser, then onward to the Cariboo Gold Fields. Most miners left the region for the more lucrative ground, leaving good gold prospects behind. During this early period, little to no attention had been placed on hard-rock prospects. With the canyon hosting an array of exposed bedrock along the river’s banks, the area offers ideal potential for the recovery of both placer and hard-rock metals. Pinch samples of unprocessed ore placed under microscope, showed an abundance of micro nodules of platinum.
Where was gold discovered in British Columbia?
Governor James Douglas, in his diary, credits an indigenous person with discovering gold on the banks of the Nicoamen River in 1856, while stooping down to get a drink of water, discovered a 3 ounce nugget . Regardless, in February 1858, the steamer Otter sailed into San Francisco with 800 ounces of gold from the Fraser River.
Background
Spring of 1858
- Unlike the Cariboo Gold Rush (1861–67), which attracted many Canadians, the Fraser Rush was an extension of California mining society. By the 1850s, placer mining in California had depleted free gold. Miners accustomed to the glory days of the California Rush were marginalized by capital-intensive hydraulic mining. For this large, unemployed class of miners, news of any gold …
Impact on Indigenous Peoples
- All Aboriginal lands of the southern interior were invaded by large companies of miners, triggering the Fraser Canyon War of 1858. As the summer wore on, miners disrupted Nlaka’pamux communities. The men mined gold without consulting Nlaka’pamux community leaders for permission, and threatened violence when challenged. Some of the miners committed acts of se…
Impact on British Columbia
- To avoid the lawless conditions of the Californian and Australian goldfields just a few years earlier, the British government was quick to establish New Caledonia as the colony of British Columbia on 2 August 1858. Sir James Douglas also initiated the building of a network of roads through the interior (see Cariboo Road). But the period of prosperity didn’t last long. By the mid-1…