Location and History
Shasta and Whiskeytown are in western Shasta County about 10 miles west-northwest of Redding. The Iron Mountain copper-zinc district is to the north, and the French Gulch gold district is to the northwest. Gold was discovered in Clear Creek, which flows through the area in 1849, and many mining camps were soon established. The largest and best known were Horsetown and Whiskeytown, which no longer exist, and Shasta, which was the first seat of government of Shasta County.
The Shasta camp is now a state historical monument, and many of the old buildings have been restored. There was some dragline dredging in the district in the 1930s.
Geology and Ore Deposits
Much of the gold production was from placer deposits in Clear Creek and its tributaries. Lode gold was recovered from pocket mines. Narrow and shallow quartz veins contain free gold and abundant sulfides in places. The largest source of lode gold apparently was the Mt. Shasta mine, which has yielded about $180,000. The gold-bearing veins occur either in granite or in greenstone and schist near granitic contacts.
Bibliography
Averill, C. V., 1933, Gold deposits of the R.edding and Weaverville quadrangles: California Diy. Mines Rept. 29, pp. 2-73.
Logan, C. A., 1926, Shasta County, Whiskeytown and Shasta districts: California Min. Bur. Rept. 22, pp. 168-169.
