By A. H. KOSCHMANN and M. H. BERGENDAHL - USGS 1968
Click here for the Principle Gold Producing Districts of the United States Index
All the gold mined in Stanislaus County has come from placers. The Quaternary gravels along the Stanislaus River above Oakdale (the Oakdale-Knights Ferry district) and in the channels of the Tertiary Tuolumne River near Waterford have been the most productive (Charles, 1947, p. 92).
In the early 1900's large-scale dredging of Quaternary gravels began along the Tuolumne River between La Grange and Waterford, and most of the gold produced in Stanislaus County from 1932 through 1959 came from this area. In the late 1940's gold mining declined sharply, and during 1952-59 only a few ounces per year was produced as a byproduct of various sand and gravel operations.
Gold production of the county from 1880 through 1959 was 364,600 ounces.
Published information on the geology and development of the individual districts could not be found; however, during 1932-59 the Oakdale-Knights Ferry district produced 28,399 ounces, and the La Grange-Waterford district produced 108,512 ounces.
