wright.] CLIMATE AND SUMMARY. 31 
CLIMATE. 
No climatic records have been kept of the particular area under dis- 
cussion. The inhabitants claim that the winters are more severe than 
in the parts of southeastern Alaska nearer to the open ocean and more 
directly influenced by the Japan Current. Heavy snowfalls begin late 
in October, and in places accumulations in the gulches do not disap- 
pear before the first part of June. The line of perpetual snow is 
about 5,000 feet above the sea, and many of the valleys have small 
glaciers at their heads. During the summer months, however, the 
climate is more pleasant than that prevailing along the coast, and the 
precipitation is considered to be less. 
SUMMARY. 
The gold-bearing gravels in this vicinity are confined to the few 
creeks and benches within an area of 5 miles in width and 10 miles in 
length, extending from Nugget Creek on the Salmon to the mouth 
of Porcupine Creek on the Klehini. Belts of mineralized slates 
included in this area are crosscut by the streams, and from these the 
gold has been derived. The workable deposits vary from 25 feet to 
several hundred feet in width and are from a few feet to 40 feet or 
more in depth. 
The gold-producing gravels on the Porcupine extend to the junction 
of McKinley Creek and up this tributary for a distance of 1 mile. On 
Nugget Creek the gold is limited to the lower claims. 
The creek gravels are the most valuable; from information avail- 
able they average several dollars to the cubic yard, though in local 
bonanzas much higher values are obtained. In the bench deposits 
lower values may be expected. The extensive river beds are known 
to contain some gold, but are of so low value that dredging would 
probably be the only profitable method of working them. 
While some of the deposits on the lower claims of the Porcupine 
have been considerably developed, the greater number remain 
untouched, and to obtain the greatest yield from them it will be 
necessary to combine operations and work the various claims under 
one management by more economical methods than are at present 
employed. 
