Gold has been recovered in a number of places in the Coast Ranges province. The largest source of gold has been the beach placers near Orick, Humboldt County, which have yielded more than $1 million. Other producers have been the Palisade and Silverado silver-gold mines, Calistoga district, Napa County; the Island Mountain sulfide deposit, Trinity County, where gold was recovered as a by-product of copper mining; the mercury-gold mines in the Sulphur Creek district, Colusa County; the Los Burros district, Monterey County; the La Panza district, San Luis Obispo County; and the ocean beaches near Crescent City, Del Norte County.
Years ago there were small short-lived placer-mining operations at Jolon, Parkfield, and the Carmel River area, Monterey County; Panoche Valley, San Benito County; San Francisquito Creek near Palo Alto and Coyote Creek, Santa Clara County; Felton and Ben Lomond, Santa Cruz County; Mitchell Canyon north of Mount Diablo, Contra Costa County; and Putah Creek, Yolo County. Gold has been recovered from the ocean beaches at San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, Point Sal, and Surf. Small amounts of by-product gold were recovered at one time from the massive pyrite bodies at Leona Heights, Alameda County, and from a few copper prospects. Traces of gold have been noted in quicksilver ores in a few other districts besides the Sulphur Creek district.
