Location
Burro Creek, Santa Maria River, and the vicinity of Bagdad, Tps. 12-15 N., Rs. 8-10 W.
Topographic Maps
Prescott 2-degree sheet, Army Map Service; Bagdad 15-minute quadrangle; Congress 30-minute quadrangle.
Geologic Maps
Anderson, Scholz, and Strobell, 1955, Geologic map of the Bagdad area, Yavapai County, Arizona (pi. 3), scale 1:20,000.
Arizona Bureau of Mines, 1958, Geologic map of Yavapai County, scale 1:375,000.
Access
Bagdad is accessible by an improved highway that leads northwest from Hillside, about 35 miles to Bagdad. Access to other areas is unknown.
Extent
Small placers are found in widely scattered areas in the Eureka district. Gold was recovered during the late 1850's at Old Placers near the Cowboy mine, probably located in or near sec. 14, T. 14 N., R. 9 W. (Bagdad quadrangle). Other placers, whose exact location is unknown, are along Burro Creek northwest of Bagdad (Prescott 2-degree sheet) in the vicinity of the Santa Maria River southwest of Bagdad (Prescott 2-degree sheet) and in unnamed gulches northwest of Hillside.
Production History
The placers in the Eureka district have been worked intermittently on a small scale since the late 1850's. In 1875, placers were discovered in the Santa Maria area. These deposits were drywashed that year and yielded a nugget valued (at that time) $50 to $60. During this century, the deposits throughout this area have been drywashed intermittently with small gold recovery.
Source
The placers near the Cowboy mine were probably derived from erosion of the gold-bearing vein mined there; the other deposits were probably derived from small veins in the vicinity of the placers.
Literature
Raymond, 1877: Reports placer discovery; describes size of gold in Santa Maria River.
U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1934-35: Placers recovered from Burro Creek, Santa Maria River, and gulches northwest of Hillside.
U.S. Geological Survey, 1922: Placers recovered from Burro Creek and other unnamed creeks.
Wilson, 1961: History; production.
