prospectors in baja

Want to look, but not take?

Get Walt Peterson's The Baja Adventure Book for many of the gem and mineral collecting locations.



Also, Rockhounding in Baja, by W.R.C. Shedenhelm, La Siesta Press c1980



Finally, our late amigo Herman Hill and his book Baja's Hidden Gold...



This one has a lot of geology info in it, mostly the San Felipe region:



and the rest of Baja, along the highways:




If you want to believe in lost mission treasure (there was none), here's a bed time story book:

Quote: Originally posted by David K

If you want to believe in lost mission treasure (there was none), here's a bed time story book:

...ahhh,,yer mean it's not been found yet!

[Edited on 1-29-2015 by micah202]

osprey you just need two bent metal rods. They can find water, metal and even a full wayter bottle. you need to be wearing your ruby slippers though and repeat three times there's no place like baja. Y'a just have to believe.

Prospecting

Quote: Originally posted by Osprey

Whoa, my metal detector will only help find metal, not gems. Do I need a newer better one?

The only thing I ever found while beach combing with mine was a 50 peso note

Quote: Originally posted by bajaguy

Gold deposits near Ensenada include areas around Ojos Negros and Uruapan/Santo Tomas. Problem is getting permission from landowners. Do not know about any restrictions on metal detecting along beaches but the the beach area by the 'new' Malecon in Ensenada should be a good spot

metal detecting

Quote: Originally posted by bajaric

I have metal-detected and prospected several areas in Baja, mainly in the canyons along the upper sea of Cortez, never found so much as a single speck of the yellow stuff. (yet) Nice scenery, though. I had better luck on the tourist beaches where they ride the banana boats at low tide, about ten years ago found a gold crucifix that weighed half a troy ounce that way. More recently the same spot yielded nothing, I think people are more cautious about losing jewelry since it is so expensive now and there are fewer tourists in general.

RIP Herman.

Quote: Originally posted by bajaric

RIP David K, thank you for welcome to forum. I have enjoyed the forum for years and finally decided to sign up. The area I am currently interested in is a little south of the areas you mentioned. I am not being specific, partly because of the solitary, secretive nature that has always characterized gold prospecting, and also because the canyons I have been exploring have some pretty sensitive wildlife habitats and some people will dredge river bottoms and tear up the land for a few grams of gold. Not me, I stick to the dry washes and am very careful not to damage any plants, frogs, etc. Anyhow, with regards to the original post, the ideal prospecting location in Baja would be one with a safe place to camp, either in a secure camp ground or far enough away for any population centers to eliminate any chance of some random narco-criminals showing up and terrorizing you and stealing all of your stuff. Also a place where there is no local rancher or miner jealously guarding his land, and finally a place with a bunch of gold nuggets laying around on the surface. In my experience, (except perhaps in the far northern reaches of Alaska or Siberia) such places are rather difficult to find to say the least! Baja-wise its more just for the fun of exploring, not finding anything, and then drinking a lot of Tecate and Padre Kino to kill the pain of striking out -- I like to go through the old travel guides (I have Gulik, Petersen, Cross) and spot mentions of mining activities (not to mention trolling this forum) and then compare them with the Baja Atlas map. I have found the best place is usually the beach in front of the hotel -- best, Ric [Edited on 2-5-2015 by bajaric] [Edited on 2-5-2015 by bajaric]

Quote: Originally posted by bajaric

RIP David K, thank you for welcome to forum. I have enjoyed the forum for years and finally decided to sign up. The area I am currently interested in is a little south of the areas you mentioned. I am not being specific, partly because of the solitary, secretive nature that has always characterized gold prospecting, and also because the canyons I have been exploring have some pretty sensitive wildlife habitats and some people will dredge river bottoms and tear up the land for a few grams of gold. Not me, I stick to the dry washes and am very careful not to damage any plants, frogs, etc. Anyhow, with regards to the original post, the ideal prospecting location in Baja would be one with a safe place to camp, either in a secure camp ground or far enough away for any population centers to eliminate any chance of some random narco-criminals showing up and terrorizing you and stealing all of your stuff. Also a place where there is no local rancher or miner jealously guarding his land, and finally a place with a bunch of gold nuggets laying around on the surface. In my experience, (except perhaps in the far northern reaches of Alaska or Siberia) such places are rather difficult to find to say the least! Baja-wise its more just for the fun of exploring, not finding anything, and then drinking a lot of Tecate and Padre Kino to kill the pain of striking out -- I like to go through the old travel guides (I have Gulik, Petersen, Cross) and spot mentions of mining activities (not to mention trolling this forum) and then compare them with the Baja Atlas map. I have found the best place is usually the beach in front of the hotel -- best, Ric

You got some good books... Nothing beats the original 'Baja Bible':


First Edition, 1956




3rd and 4th edition (1962, 1970) cover


Revised, renamed, for the new highway, in 1975.

Quote: Originally posted by bajaric

David K, Hello, I have not figured out how to do the "quote" thing. How do you put a quote from a previous post. With regards to my Baja books, you might be interested to know that I purchased those particular books after reading a post that you yourself put on this forum in 2008. cut and paste below: posted on 4-10-2008 at 06:23 AM That's funny Don Jorge... Herman is taking his secrets to the grave, I fear! CG, the area north of or 'near' Ojos Negros has gold nuggets laying all around, it was reported by a friend... The next time he went back, a mining claim had been secured... There has been a lot of gold extracted between the 1880's and 1920's in Baja... The mines are listed in the 'Lower California Guidebook' (c1956-1970) by Gerhard and Gulick and the newer 'Baja California Guidebook' (c1975-1980) by Wheelock and Gulick and the more modern 'The Baja Adventure Book' (c1987-1998) by Walt Peterson. "So Much Baja, So Little Time..." Order the book about ALL 48 California Missions end cut and paste Also thanks to the other poster for the tip on geologic maps, I had some Mexican topo maps a long time ago, as I recall they were not very accurate and I lost them anyway. To be honest I have found plenty of enticing locations that I would like to visit just by doing searches on this forum and on Google and looking at the BC Almanac. It seems evident to me that many of the early roads (after the mission times) were put in to support mining activity, either to get to the mines or to ranchos that supplied food and water to the miners. As an aside, it always seemed odd to me that the padres apparently never discovered much in the way of gold. Maybe they were too busy just trying to survive, or perhaps they embraced the simple "pastoral" lifestyle that early Spanish / Mexican settlers in California Norte lived. (See "Sketches of Early California" by Oscar Lewis, Donald De Nevi 1971) Ironic that they were sitting on the mother lode and after two centuries of Mexican / Spanish rule it was the Americans that found it. Something about the Yankees, never content to just live life in paradise, always trying to invest and build and plunder and develop --

Hello BajaRic, look over on the top right of this box you are reading and see a 'button' called QUOTE. Click on it, and a post widow opens with the quoted text inside. To add your new comments, go below the [/ rquote] tab (which is the end of the quoted text).

As for the roads, yes... in most part they supported the mines of the early 1900's... to today. There is an unmapped road that goes from Rancho Aguila (Eagle) towards Puertecitos... stopping at a new mine near the peninsula divide. If only it was pushed through... what a short cut!



As for the padres... they really believed they were saving souls, it is in their writings. They noted mineral deposits in their explorations, but seeking treasures was not their mission. Sure they were a tool of the Spanish Crown to help transform a wild land to a civilized one. The missionaries wanted California to remain pure. If too many Spanish soldiers and miners came over, the rape and disease would doom their efforts. Sadly, with just the few soldiers that did come... and eventually the Real de Santa Ana silver mine opened... well, you know the outcome.

[Edited on 2-9-2015 by David K]

So, two guys with metal detectors get in an argument, and they agree to a duel.

Gentlemen, choose your weapons. Stainless steel sand scoop or Lesche digging tool



[Edited on 3-14-2015 by bajaric]