Yarnell And Rumors Of Gold Yup, There Is Gold In Them Thar Hills! The Weaver Mountains are made up mainly of pre-Cambrian granitic and schistose rocks, overlain in places by Tertiary lavas. Within certain areas of these rocks are found thin, lenticular quartz veins which carry pyrite, galena, and gold. Some of these special areas in the Weaver Mountains that contain gold are the Congress, Fool's Gulch, Octave, Stanton, Weaver, and several other smaller gold-bearing veins. Weaver And Rich Hill Placers The placer area is at the southern margin of the Weaver Mountains, which rise to 6,574 feet above sea level at Weaver peak or to more than 2,000 feet above the desert plain to the south. The gold placer ground near Yarnell covers an area of approximately eight by five miles. According to the local people, the most productive locations, are in the northern half of this area, included about ten acres on the top of Rich Hill; a few portions of the sides of the hill; most of the channels and branches of Weaver, Antelope, and some of the other washes; including the gravel benches that lie between these washes. About 5.5 Miles in a straight line to the southeast of Yarnell lays Rich Hill; which rises steeply for about 2,000 feet above the plain below, and it consists mainly of intensely jointed granite. The top of Rich Hill is at an elevation of 5,340 feet above sea level and it is located between the deeply eroded canyons of Antelope Creek on the west and Weaver Creek on the east. The higher parts of the Weaver Mountains receive about eighteen inches of rainfall per year which means that the two south-flowing creeks (Antelope Creek and Weaver Creek) generally have some water in their upper courses and are subject to torrential floods during the two rainy seasons of the year. In some areas, it is traversed by thin, lenticular quartz veins carrying pyrite, galena, and gold. The top of Rich Hill is a bumpy mesa, about 7/8 mile long by 3/8 mile wide, which is an erosional remnant of the elevated Weaver Mountain pediment. Rich Hill includes several acres of wide, shallow basins with drainage channels whose granite floors are covered with granite boulders and with a thin, rust looking, sandy soil. A few angular pebbles of quartz and of hematite are present, but no alluvial or foreign gravels occur anywhere within the area. Evidence of the once abundant occurrence of placer gold within the shallow basins and drainage channels can be seen from the numerous old placer diggings that cover its surface. As you walk along the washes and benches below Rich Hill; you will notice that the placer material consists of iron-stained gravel and sand, ten feet or more thick, together with abundant subangular boulders that are one to seven feet in diameter. The Gold photos on this page range from about 3/4 ounce to 7 1/2 ounces of gold in each sample. Rich Hill is very close to Yarnell which is located on the Highway 89, Scenic Route to Prescott, Arizona. Yarnell is also listed as one of the communities to visit along the American Heritage Trail route. There is a link to the Yarnell Chamber Of Commerce at the bottom of this page. If you visit this area DO NOT PROSPECT in any form unless you have the legal right to do so. ALL OF THE LAND IS EITHER PRIVATE PROPERTY OR IT IS A LEGAL GOLD CLAIM. GOLD AND MINERAL TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED! The Yavapai County Sheriff Department is called to enforce these laws. There are several prospecting clubs with claims on the area that you can join and several of the claims on the area are for sale. Join a club or buy a claim. That way you can legally prospect the area. While I can not guarantee that you will find gold in the area, I don't know anyone who hasn't. If you want to try your luck for a very low price and to do it quickly, you might stop at the Weaver Mining District office at the bottom of Yarnell Hill. They can sign you up and provide a map of their claims for close to $25. Weaver Mining District: CONTACT: Marianne or Dan 25625 Hwy 89 (in the Arrowhead complex, just north of the junction of Hwys 71 and 89) Phone: 928-427-6344 Mail: Weaver Mining District P.O. Box 955 Congress, AZ 85332 The Weaver Mining District is a non-profit club with annual dues of $25 per family. They have about 1,700 acres of mining claims in the old Weaver Mining District, just below Yarnell Hill, near Stanton, Arizona. A new prospecting club is in town! It is located in Congress, Arizona. It is called: American Prospectors Club. Give Lou Roggio a call or email him for details. American Prospectors Club Box 15 Congress, AZ 85332 928-830-7791 Lou Roggio lou@americanprospectors.com

You may need some outdoor clothing and equipment, if you plan to prospect for gold. The "Prospecting Season" in Arizona is during the cooler weather. Another good time is right after a hard rain. We have some links to Altrec on this page since they are a good online source for outdoor gear.