120 THE AURIFEROUS GRAVELS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA. 
scattered along the sides of the ridge at various points, but chiefly along the southeastern side 
near Indian Cafon, and in the shallow patch which caps the ridge near the Catholic church, a 
little northeast of Iowa Hill. The total quantity already washed away is probably between two 
and three million cubic yards, of which about nine tenths may be assumed as having come from 
the deep channel. 
Mr. Goodyear makes the following estimate of the amount of ground remaining to be worked by 
the hydraulic process, in the vicinity of Placerville : — 
Locality. Dimensions. Cubie Yards 
Hangtown Hill to Reservoir . . ‘ . . 2640! x 1000! x 75! 7,333,333 
Excelsior Claim, Coon Hill. : . : . 40 acres 135! deep 8,712,000 
Webber Claim, Coon Hill : . ; . . 900! x 1200! x 100! 4,000,000 
Webber Hill : . ‘ : . . ? 40 acres 75! deep 4,840,000 
Little Spanish Hill , : ; , : - 20 acres 100! deep 3,226,666 
3ig Spanish Hill ; ‘ ‘ : : . 10 acres 100’ deep 1,613,333 
Smith’s Flat . : ‘ : : . . - 1200! x 200! x 60! 533,333 
Clay Hill . alti ile ‘Sree: : : 3 acres 15! deep 72,200 
Indian Hill. . ; . : : ; : 6 acres 20! deep 193,600 
Negro Hill, below Reservoir . ; . ‘ 50 acres 75! deep 6,050,000 
Steven’s Claim, spur , . ‘ : : : 15 acres 40! deep 968,000 
White Rock Cation, southwest side. . : 1200/ X 1000! x 40)! 177,778 
White Rock Point, spur . ; : ‘ ; - 1500! X 400! x 90! 2,000,000 
Cedar Flat . : : P ; : : : 15 acres 45! deep * 1,089,000 
Total, 40,809,743 
If now to the above estimate for special localities we add 25 per cent, which is probably a liberal 
allowance for the quantity which remains distributed along the sides and spurs of various hills, and 
not taken into account above, we may say that as fair an estimate as can now be made for the total 
quantity of gravel capable of being hydraulicked in the vicinity of Placerville will amount, in 
round numbers, to fifty millions of cubic yards. 
SUBDIVISION IJ. —TuHE REGION soUTH OF THE MOKELUMNE RIVER. 
The region between the Mokelumne and the North Fork of the American 
River having been described in the preceding pages, chiefly from the notes 
of Mr. Goodyear, we turn next to that portion of the western slope of the 
Sierra which lies to the south of the Mokelumne. The region which is now 
about to be described is extremely interesting from many points of view; 
but it is not a great hydraulic mining district. It has been the scene of 
extremely rich placer, river, and tunnel mining operations, and many quartz 
mines have been worked in the three counties of Calaveras, Tuolumne, and 
Mariposa; but no one of these interests can be said to be, at the present 
time, in a very flourishing condition. Few, if any, of the quartz mines have 
proved to be permanently productive and capable of being worked to great 
depths like those in Amador County; the river beds have long since been 
thoroughly cleaned out. The rich channels under the various lava flows, 
like the Sonora Table Mountain, have been worked out by tunnels, and 
* This item was added by Mr. Alderson, who examined and approved of Mr. Goodyear’s estimates as 
given above. 
