THE GOLDEN ROCK WATER DITCH

Abstract

I^Sn the feverish extravagance of the first few years after igfiEHj the discovery of gold in California, many of the richer ' jgjQlll mines were soon exhausted. Much untouched ground still remained, however, in areas that were capable of yielding a profit when an adequate supply of water was available. As mining methods developed from the pan, batea, and arrastre through the cradle, the rocker to the long torn and the sluice box and finally to hydraulic mining, there was an ever increasing need for larger supplies of water. In his article, "History of Mining and Milling Methods in California," C. A. Logan rightly observes that, just as "the action of water had been chiefly responsible for the formation of the rich placer deposits of gold sought by the pioneers," so was it also "the principal agent used by them in winning the gold."1