THE GOLD PLACERS OF TURNAGAIN ARM/' 
By Fred H. Moffit. 
GENERAL STATEMENT. 
The region adjacent to Cook Inlet, Alaska, first came into promi- 
nence as a producer of placer gold in 1896. The presence of gold in 
some of the gravels was, however, known to a few prospectors and 
traders previous to that time, and some attempts at mining had been 
made many years before b}^ the Russians. In fact, the first report of 
gold in Alaska was made by the Russian mining engineer, Doroshin, 
who conducted an examination of the mineral resources of Cook Inlet 
for the Russian American Company in 1848. Remains of old Russian 
workings and tools have been found in one or two places, but active 
mining operations seem to have been discouraged by the fur compa- 
nies, which controlled the country up to the time of its purchase by 
the United States. A large part of the gold product of the Turna- 
gain Arm region is due to the labor of miners who were without 
capital, who took out the richest and more easily mined deposits, and 
who have since left. The conditions under which mining has been 
carried on, therefore, make it impossible to give an accurate estimate of 
the amount of gold produced, but it is believed that the average yearly 
output since the opening up of the region is less than $150,000. 
GEOGRAPHY. 
Cook Inlet is the deep indentation that opens into the northwestern 
part of . the Gulf of Alaska, and forms the western boundary of Kenai 
Peninsula, separating it from the base of the Alaskan Peninsula on 
the west. It extends in a direction nearly northeast and southwest 
for a distance of almost 170 miles, and is divided at its northeast end 
into two long, narrow branches known as Turnagain and Knik arms. 
The first of these, Turnagain Arm, extends in an east-west direction, 
and is between 40 and 45 miles long. It forms part of the northern 
boundary of Kenai Peninsula, and reaches on the east to within 12 
miles of Portage Bay, a western branch of Prince William Sound. 
"This paper is an abstract of a more complete discussion of this district now being prepared for 
publication. 
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