THE  KOTZEBUE  PLACER-GOLD  FIELD  OF  SEWARD  PENINSULA, 
ALASKA." 
By  Fked  H.  Moffit. 
GENERAL  DESCRIPTION. 
The  Kotzebue  placer-gold  field  is  in  that  part  of  the  northeastern 
portion  of  the  Seward  Peninsula  which  lies  to  the  south  of  the  eastern 
extension  of  Kotzebue  Sound,  and  is  nearly  150  miles  northeast  of 
Nome.  In  a  rough  way,  the  more  important  camps  may  be  included  in 
a  rectangular  area,  about  40  miles  from  east  to  west  and  20  miles  from 
north  to  south.  Deering  and  Kiwalik  are  the  chief  distributing  points 
for  provisions  and  supplies,  but  during  the  past  season  steamers  have 
landed  parts  of  their  cargoes  intended  for  the  more  western  camps  at 
the  mouth  of  Rex  Creek,  west  of  Deering.  The  region  offers  few 
attractions  to  the  prospector.  Low,  tundra-covered  hills,  natural  breed- 
ing places  for  mosquitoes  and  black  flies,  surround  him  on  every  side. 
Traveling,  difficult  on  the  higher  ground,  is  almost  impossible  over 
the  lowlands  bordering  the  sound  and  on  most  of  the  streams.  The  only 
fuel  for  cooking  or  heating  is  that  afforded  by  the  low  willows  scat- 
tered along  the  bottoms  of  the  valleys. 
The  coast  line  forming  the  northern  boundary  of  the  field  is  but  30 
miles  south  of  the  Arctic  Circle,  and  in  consequence  of  its  position 
the  region  is  subject  in  summer  to  much  damp  weather  and  in  winter 
to  severe  cold,  with  strong   winds,  more   trying  to  the  traveler  than 
the  lower  temperatures  but  quieter  atmosphere  of  the  interior.     The 
area  containing  the  gold-producing  streams  is  limited   in  an  east-west  I 
direction  by  the   one  hundred  and  sixty-first  and   one  hundred  and  I 
sixty-third  meridians,  west  longitude,  and  in  a  southerly  direction  all  i1 
of  the  camps  where  gold  is  mined  are  within  20  miles  of  the  coast,  I 
except  those  on  Bear  Creek,  which  are  nearly  twice  that  distance. 
This  area  forms  the  eastern  part  of  the  Fairhaven  mining  district,  1 
including  the  drainage  into  Kotzebue  Sound,  beginning  with  Good  I 
Hope  River  on  the  west  and  ending  with  Buckland  River  on  the  east.  1 
aThis paper  is  an  abstract  of  a    more  complete  discussion  which  is  shortly  to  appear  in  a.  papc 
entitled  "A  Reconnaissance  of  the  Northeastern  Portion  of  Seward  Peninsula,  Alaska." 
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