694 



R. A. F. PENROSE, JR. 



The gold on the beaches is sometimes on the immediate surface 

 and sometimes covered by from a few inches to several feet of barren 

 sand. On some beaches it is well up on the shore, on others it is near 

 the water level and on still others it is below the water level. The 

 sandy strata carrying the gold are rarely over a few inches in thick- 

 ness, but often very rich. The gold is associated with large quanti- 

 ties of black sand, which seems to be mostly magnetite, and numerous 

 small o;arnets. 



Fig. 9. — Gold-bearing alluvium on the Rio Santa Maria, Tierra del Fuego. 



The gold, whether from the creeks, hillsides, or beaches, is said to 

 be quite pure, though it contains often a little copper and silver. It 

 occurs generally in rather fine particles, but sometimes small nuggets, 

 often fiat and about the size of lima beans, occur, and occasionally 

 still larger ones are found, but no very great nuggets have yet been 

 discovered. The rarer minerals which occur in some other gold 

 districts, like diamond, sapphire, topaz, etc., are said not to be found 

 in this region, though a closer study of the deposits might reveal the 

 presence of some of them. 



As regards the origin of the gold deposits of the Magellan region, 



