UNITED STATES 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

HAROLD L. ICKES, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

W. C. MENDENHALL, Director

CIRCULAR 8

____Q___

BEACH PLACERS OF THE OREGON COAST

BY

J. T. PARDEE

WASHINGTON 

1934
UNITED STATES 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

HAROLD L. ICKES, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

W. C. MENDENHALL, Director

CIRCULAR 8 

 0 

BEACH PLACERS OF THE OREGON COAST

BY 

J. T. PARDEE

WASHINGTON 

1934
81419

Contents

Pag^

Abstract ---_-__--_--__ - --.-.--.--_-_ 4 

Introduction -------------------------- 6

Mining activity -.---_---__--__--__------ 6

Previous reports ------------------------ 8

Climate, vegetation, and accessibility ------------- 8

T OT^A J3"Y* QT*i n "57 * , _ __ __ . .. _- Q Jr & * ^"tr v r *" ' 7 --"'-^ * * Q

""" *""* *~* "~* """ *"" *"* *"* ~" * *""" "~* ~* * *""* r~ *"" ~ ~* """ "* "~" *J

Development of the coast line ~~~_~_-~.~~-~~----16

Retrograded shores --~---^-~^,---^-^~---»l6 

Prngraded shores -.--~^-r----~--,------~'-18

Extent of shore migration ----------------- 18

Shore-zone formations --------------------- 20

Offshore tods -__~-__--~--_~--~--~~~20

OCi-Li QnTirl 1-*- U.LXJ.1C- r^Trnoa o^ .- «. _ « «.^-r «. «.«. , r-»««_ _ w.«.^«. « r. ir_ ^ r---r -. _ » r ^-* O ?1JSediments related to ancient shores ------------r21

Placer deposits ------------^------.-----gj

Production --- ---_-_--_--_--------- 26

and distribution -,-^--^-----------26

_____ ~» _ __ (___r ____ _ _____,_ r-_,,_,_,* _ i ^P*7(

Present "beach ~_~~----,_~-----~---~27

Ancient "beach and offshore beds -~~-^-,~~---28 

Origin -------------.-----------20

Source of the gold ------------------30

Source of the platinum ~~~~.~~~-r-r.~T----" 33

Tenor and extent of remaining deposits ~~---~-~34 

Samples and assays ~-,~~--~~-~~--~~34 

Present beach -~--~~~-~~-~r-----~35

Ancient beaches and offshore "beds -~r-~--~-36 

Amounts of black-sand minerals ~~---~~~~36 

Mining conditions ----- -,---------*--- 37

Descriptions of mines ~~~-~~~t~~~-~~-~~38

JZJCX^ J-,0 t « -» , ~~r -^ ^- « »- » »^ ,-»_,. ^ » .« ,« __* . »-* O »>

Chickamin ------------------«- 39

x o wa ___ _^Tr-, _ _,^r-. »'±(j

Old mines north of Rogue River -^.-,~-~~-~41
81419

Illustrations

Page

Figure 1. Index map of Oregon coast 7 

2a, 2b. Geology of Oregon coast south of Coos Bay ,-, 10,

3. Shore profile at Cape Blanco - 13

4. Shore profile north of Kogiie River r 13

5. Shore profiles south of Rogue River 13

6. Elements of shore zones in an advanced stage of

devel OT/Tient *- » -*___.-.. _____________________ "\.5

7. Profile and section at Gold Beach . 19

8. Profile and section half a mile north of Doyles Point 19

9. Section at road cut east of Bandon 22

10. North-south profile and section at South Slough 24

11. East-west profile and section at South Slough 24

12. Section at Old China mine, Hubbard Mound 25

13. Cross profile and section at Brookings 25

14. Section at mouth of ^hislcy Bun 27

15. Section south of Cape Blanco 32

16. Section of Pleistocene offshore beds at Chickamin

mine ~ ».___________________,__,_____ ,___,__»*-. 40
81419

Beach placers of the Oregon coast

By J. T. Pardee

Abstract

Beach placers along the Oregon coast were richly productive 

for a time after their discovery in 1852 and have since yielded small 

amounts of gold and platinum annually. Renewed interest in then was 

caused "by the industrial depression that followed 1929.

The generally mountainous Oregon coast is bordered in places 

by coastal plains that range from a quarter of a mile to 4 miles in 

width and are mostly less than 100 feet high. The plains are of two 

different geomorphic types. 'One consists of lowlands composed of baymouth bars or barrier beaches and the filled embayraents behind them; 

the other is a group of slightly elevated marine terraces.

In addition to these terraces a remarkable series of marine 

benches, the results of a Pleistocene submergence described by Diller, 

appear at intervals between sea level and an altitude of 1,500 feet.

The original irregular outline of a submerged land surface has 

been straightened and simplified into the present shore by the action of 

the waves in cutting back headlands and building bars across embayed 

areas. Stretches that have retreated, however, show small-scale irregularities due to differences in the resistance of the rocks.

Around many of the capes and headlands the wave-cut bench is 

generally swept bare of debris by the waves, and stretches that are nearly 

always devoid of any noteworthy beach deposit aggregate about 50 miles 

in length. On the other hand, reentrants in the retreating shores arc 

generally bordered by transitory boaclies 50 to 200 foet or more wide, and 

such stretches aggregate about 100 miles in length. Along certain other 

stretches the retreat has ceased for the time being, and the shore has 

readvanced by wave-added beach material constituting a backshore deposit* 

Such retrograded and prograded shores aggregate 12 miles or more in length, 

and the maximum advance has been 1,000 feet.

Along the remainder of the Oregoi> coast the shore has advanced 

a quarter of a mile to 2 miles or more from its original position as the 

result of wave-built barrier beaches, bay-mouth bars, and spits. All of 

the prograded stretches are characterized by a simple shore line and 

a voluminous beach deposit.
81419

The distribution and height "of the islands, the character and 

profile of the submarine bench and other features shown by the charts of 

the Coast and Geodetic Survey indicate a shore recession ranging from 

a quarter of a mile to 4 miles and averaging at least a mile. The prograded shores have advanced as much as 3 or 4 miles in places, but the 

net result of the shore movements is apparently a loss of land area.

The different terraces are capped with Pleistocene marine sediments, the largest area of which is between Port Orford and Cape Arago 

and is related to an ancient shore line at an altitude of 170 feet, Beds 

formed offshore compose a terrace plain about South Slough, that is somewhat lower, and there are remnants of beaches in some of the other terraces.

The placer deposits are wave-concentrated layers in the beaches 

and offshore beds and are generally called black sands for the reason that 

they are composed largely of magnetite, chromite, and other heavy minerals, 

most of which are dark-colored. Commonly these layers contain small 

particles of gold and platinum, and in places the metallic particles are 

abundant enough to be ortracted profitably. In the beaches that are 

retreating under wave attack the deposits are variable and inconstant, but 

certain beaches are likely to be richer or more often workable than others* 

The backshore of the present beach and the ancient beach at an altitude 

of about 170 feet have been the most productive. The pay streak generally 

ranges from a few feet 'to 200 or 300 feet in width, is 3 or 4 feet thick 

in the middle, and tapers toward the edges. It consists largely of alternat~ 

ing layers of black «nd gray sand with more or less cobbles, boulders, and 

drift wood and in the ancient beach, is mostly covered with a barren sand 

"overburden" 20 to 60 feet thick.

The immediate sources of the beach minerals, including gold and 

platinum, are the shores that are being cut back by the waves. Most of the 

gold-bearing beaches are south of Coos Bay, along the coast opposite the 

Klamath Mountain region, described by Di'iler, which contains several areas 

of gold-bearing lodes. The lodes of the interior were the ultimate sources 

of the gold from which it has been carried seaward at intervals since 

middle Tertiary time. As a result of stream sorting only the finer particles 

reached the coast. No definite source of the platinum has been found, but 

its distribution and its association with chromite suggest the abundant 

serpentincnis and other basic intrusives of the region. However, no relation 

of the platinum and chromite of the beaches to any particular rock mass 

could be made out.

Owing to the transitory character of the foreshores of the present 

beach no definite estimate of reserves can b© m&de, but it is concluded 

that deposits suitable for small-scale operators will continue to fonn 

here and there along certain parts of the coast. Ordinarily tfcege deposits 

may be expected, under tho working conditions possible, to yield from a 

few cents, to $2 a day per man (with gold reckoned at $20 an ounce). In 

places the backshore contains noteworthy amounts of gold and platinum, "bat 

in the decade immediately preceeding 1932 attempts to mine the deposits 

apparently met with no success, and no basis for an estimate of their value 

exists.
B1419

Parts of the ancient beach at 170 feet above sea level remaining 

between stream valleys aggregate 8 or 10 riles in length and contain pay 

streaks 50 to 300 feet wide and a few inches to several feet thick. Those 

pay streaks are generally covered with 20 to 60 feet of barren sand, and 

in most places their richer parts have been mined. How much of the remainder can be profitably worked under given conditions remains to bo 

determined by prospecting. Black sand layers occur also in ancient offshore 

beds and in places, at least, contain a little gold and platinum. The 

"black sand" beds may be regarded as a possible future reserve of chromite 

and other minerals in case of emergency.

Introduction

Along the Oregon coast gold and platinum bearing deposits were 

discovered on the present beaches in 1852 and on the ancient elevated beaches 

18 or 20 years later. In places the deposits were rich, and for a tirio they 

were mined extensively. According to popular report a production of several 

million dollars, chiefly in gold but with a minor content of platinum, was 

obtained. After the more profitable stretdhes had been worked over mining 

activity decreased, but no season has pa.ssed without some production. In 

1930 and 1931 renewed interest in the deposits we,s stimulated by the fact 

that the value of gold had become relatively enhanced as the result of 

disturbed economic conditions throughout the country, For this reason an 

examination was made in June and July 1931 of parts of the coastal belt, 

chiefly between Coos Bay and the California lino. (Sse fig. 1.) Increases 

in the price of gold since the field work was done give the deposits an 

added interest.

Mining activity

In July 1931 a mine on the beach at Whisky Bun, north of the 

Coquille Paver, was being operated by Hal. Stutsraan and others, using a 

scraper, elevator, trommel, and riffle boxes. At the Lagoons, a little 

farther south and a short distance inland, machinery was being set up to 

rework a body of black-sand tailings washed down Cut Creek from tho Pioneer 

and other mines on the ancient beac?a. to the east. South of Cape Blanco 

J. C. Rowan, 3, C. Britton, and others were mining the beach between high 

and low tide lines, using rockers or other movable equipment. Earlier 

in the season several persons were reported to have been working similar 

stretches at Gold Beach and a few other places.

On the ancient elevated beaches the Pioneer mine, north of 

Bullards, was being operated with sluices by C. 17. Smith and R. Kemp Welch. 

Owing to the scarcity of water at that time of the year, barren sand overlying the placer deposit was "being resaovod with a drag-lin® scraper. Work 

at the Eagle mino, near the pioneer, had been recently suspended after the 

death of C. B. Zeek, one of the owners. At the Madden mine, south of 

Denmark, a concentrating plant was being installed under tho direction of 

C. C. Hayes.
Figure 1«- Index Map of Oregon coast0
81419

Previous reports

Brief descriptions of the beach placers have been given by 

Blake,i/T7ashburne,.2/ and filler.3/ The mineralogy of the beaches is 

described by Day and Richards ,jb and different kinds of apparatus designed 

to work the deposits and the results obtained arc described by Hornor.^/ 

In addition references to the deposits have appeared from time to time 

in the different mining journals.

Climate, vegetation, and accessibility

The climate of the Oregon coast is characterized by rainy winters, 

dry summers, and moderate to cool temperatures throughout most of the year. 

Storms sufficiently violent to prevent mining along the present beach are 

most likely to occur between October and April. During most of the remainder of the year the sea is comparatively calm. A feature of the 

summer season is a cool north breeze, accompanied by more or less fog, 

that may blow along the shore for days at a time. Back from the shore, 

placer ruining of the elevated beaches or other deposits may be done at 

any time of the year that water is available.

In places drifting sand is able to hold back vegetation for a 

short distance, but generally the forest vegetation extends almost if 

not quite to the beach. Inland the undergrowth is thick, and travel is 

very difficult away from roads, trails or clearings * Most of the deposits 

on either the present or the ancient "beaches, however, are not far from 

the Coast Highway or connecting roads.

Topography

Along the Oregon coast mountains are nowhere' far from the sea. 

In some places they rise directly from the shore, and elsewhere they stand 

at the back of a narrow coastal plain. The slopes are generally steep, 

and summits a few miles back from the shore reach heights of 2,000 to" 

4,000 feet; the liigher ones are toward the south.

17Blake, W.p., Gold and platinum of Cape Blanco: Am. Jour. Sci., 

2d ser., vol. 18, p. 156, 1854,

J3/ Hashburne, C.T7., Beach gold and its source: Oregon Univ. Bull., 

new ser,, vol. 1, no. 4, pp, 18-19, 1904.

3/ Diller, J.S., U.S. Geol. Survey G-eol. Atlas, Coos Bay folio (no. 

73), 1901; Port Orford folio (no. 89), 1903; Mineral resources of southwestern Oregon: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 546, pp. 125-127, 1914.

4/ Day, D.T., and Bichards, R.H., Useful minerals in the black sands 

of the Pacific slope; U.S. G-eol, Survey Mineral Resources, 1905, pp. 1175- 

1228, 1906.

5/ Hornor, R.R., Notes on black-sand deposits of southern Oregon 

and northern California! U.S. Sur. Mines Tecla. Paper 196, pp. 13-27, 

1928.
81419

Coastal plains

As shown by the charts of the United States Coast and Geodetic 

Survey and the topographic naps of the United States Geological Survey, 

about half of the Oregon coast is bordered by plains that range from a 

quarter of a mile to 4 miles in width and are generally less than 100 

feet high. These plains are of two different geomorphic types: one 

comprises lowlands composed of bay-mouth or offshore bars or "barrier 

beaches and sediments accumulated back of them; the other is a group of 

elevated marine terraces.

North of Coos Bay the plains are low and consist almost exclusively of wave-formed, wind-formed, and marsh deposits, locally including 

stream alluvium, that partly or completely fill areas embayed as the 

result of a comparatively recent submergence. These areas are close to 

sea level, are largely occupied by sand dunes, marshes, and lagoons, and 

are characterized in particular by a smooth, even shore line that is 

generally somewhat concave toward the sea- A plain of this type that extends from Coos Bay north 50 miles nearly to Heceta Head is from a quarter 

of a mile to 3|- miles wide. At the back are several lakes occupying ponded 

valleys. In the 100-mile stretch from Heceta Head to Tillamook Head small 

plains of the same type are developed in nine or ten embayments between 

the bold and rocky headlands which characterize that part of the coast. 

Some of them are little more than widened spits or bay-mouth bars. Others 

largely occupy the embayed areas, and in these the wave-formed and windformed deposits merge inland with alluvial flats. North of Tillamook Head 

a plain 2 miles-Td.de that borders the remaining 20 miles of the coast to 

the Columbia River is composed chiefly of marine sands. It presents a 

remarkably smooth shore line, and its surface shows several lengthwise 

ridges, as if it had grown by successive additions of material from the sea.

South of Coos Bay the coastal plains consist chiefly of moderately elevated marine terrances but include some low areas of filled embayment 

and related alluvial deposits. The largest plain extends from port Orford 

north to the vicinity of Cape Ara^o. It is 2 to 4 miles wide and 37 miles 

long, and on it are Bandon and several smaller settlements. This plain is 

a composite feature made up chiefly of elevated marine terraces but including 

considerable areas of the lowland types mentioned. The principal terrace 

was developed when the sea stood about 170 feet higher than now. It is 

partly the result of wave erosion and partly the result of wave deposition. 

From the foot of a slope that narks the former shore line it extends to the 

crest of the escarpment that forms the present sea cliff. Elsewhere it 

gives place 1 to 2 miles back to a low plain related to present sea level. 

The Coquille, Sixes, and Slk Pavers have cut wide flat-bottomed valleys across 

the terrace, and small streams have partly dissected the remaining parts. North 

and south of the Coquille River the surface descends gently seaward and ends at 

heights of 50 to 100 feet at the top of the sea cliff. South of Florals Lake 

the surface arises slightly toward an axis that trends northwestward through 

Cape Blanco (fig. 3), where the bordering sea cliff is 225 feet high. Near Port 

Orford an unconsumed rock mass known as Silver Butte (fig. 2a) stands 200 feet - 

above the plain of former marine denudation. In front of the terrace along a 

5-mile stretch north of the Coquille River entrance and along a 13-mile stretch 

between Flora's Lake and Bandon (fig. 2b) plains of the filled embayment type 

from 1 to 3 miles wide are developed.

9
124^30' R.I5W.

Placer mine and 

prospect in ancient 

marine formation
Placer mine and 

prospect in ancient 

marine formation
81419

A plain 1 to 2 miles wide and 80 to 150 feet high that 

surrounds South Slough, an arm of Coos Bay, consists of the remnants^of 

a dissected terrace composed entirely of marine sediments deposited in 

a bay that existed when the sea stood higher than now.

South of Port Orford small areas of filled embayment at the mouths 

of the Pistol River and a few other streams are related to existing sea 

level. Terrace plains generally less than half a mile wide and 50 to 200 

feet high border the shore to an aggregate length of 10 or 12 miles north 

and south of the Rogue River (fig. 4), for 3 or 4 miles at the Pistol River, 

and for 10 miles south of Cape Ferrolo (fig. 5). At Brookings the lastmentioned plain includes two terraces related to ancient shore lines that 

are 120 and 200 feet high (fig. 13).

Terraces

The slightly elevated terraces described above as forming parts 

of the coastal plains are members of a remarkable series of marine benches 

appearing at intervals along the coasts of Oregon and California and ranging between sea level and a height of 1,500 feet. As described by Diller, 6/ 

a profile of the mountain front about 12 miles north of Port Orford shows 

"at 500 feet a distinct terrace of small extent, but at 1,000 feet is a 

much larger one, having a width of over a mile. This level is well marked 

on the next spur to the northward, 2 miles west of Hare, on the road from 

Langlois to Myrtle Point, and is cut on various hard rocks, such as serpentine, schists, and igneous rocks, as well as relatively soft sandstones. 

Some well-rounded pebbles are found at this place, marking the ancient 

sea beach. Marshy spots like those on the coastal plain also occur at 

this level.

"Rising over a steeper slope to nearly 1,500 feet, one arrives 

at a third terrace, several miles in width. Like the 1,000-foot terrace, 

it has suffered much from erosion, yet its character is unmistakable. 

Eastward it is limited by a sea cliff. There is an abrupt change from 

the flat terrace to a steep slope, and then a more gradual change to the 

gentle slope of White Mountain summit, where the peneplain is traceable 

at an altitude of about 2,200 feet.

"The sea beach at an elevation of 1,500 feet is the highest 

seen along the coast of the Klamath Mountains, and is very distinct at 

a number of points - for example, by the summit of Bill Peak in the south 

part of the Coos Bay quadrangle, as well as on the trail from Denmark to 

Eightmile Prairie and on the next divj.de beyond Crystal Creek. It occurs 

also on the divide between Edson Creek and Sixes River and at numerous 

other points farther south. The terrace connected with this beach is 

usually not wide but on the whole is one of the best preserved of the 

upper terraces along this portion of the coast.

&/ Diller, J. S., Topographic development of the Klamath Mountains: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 196, pp. 26-28, 1902.

12
8UI9

w. E.

Sea level

0 L. 

C Q)

* I* /~\

S. I1 8 /\ / ^

t3 Terrace 5 ;5 Plain / \ /

Blanco Reef f -^_C _/ ^*V

_____ 

1 .... ° ', , , , SMiles

Feet 

-1,000

- 500 

-0 

-500

Figure 3 0 - Shore profile at Cape Blanco<

Figure 4°- Shore profile north of Rogue River<

Figure 5o- Shore profiles south of Rogue River,
81419

"The 500~foot terrace is most extensively developed north of the 

Coquille, where it is separated from the coastal plain by several sea 

cliffs and intervening plains. The 1,000-foot terrace is well developed 

near the northern end of the Port Orford quadrangle and is usually the 

most prominent of the elevated terraces on the coast.

"At Port Orford a prominent terrace at 300 feet spreads several 

miles to the northeast toward the 33-k River divide. This divide rises by 

a number of terraces to the plains at the 1,000 and 1,500 foot levels. 

The latter is marked east of the stage road in the flat-topped hills about 

the head of Hubbard Creek. From the summit of Humbug Mountain the wide 

sweeps of the upper plain at about 1,500 feet is evident, and when that 

plain was at sea level Humbug Mountain and Colebrook Butte were small islands.

"Just north of Rogue Eiver higher terraces may be seen, but they 

are not so conspicuous as the coastal plain. The highest is best displayed 

along the trail up the southern end of Brushy Bald Mountain and is at an 

elevation of 1,500 feet. The terrace with its sea cliff is of but small 

extend and the rounded slopes above are distinct.

"A section over the seaward slope was made from Scotts to the 

mouth of Lone Ranch Creek, The Klamath. peneplain, fronting the coast, 

has an altitude of 1,800 feet. The first traces of terraces were seen 

at 1,500 feet, where the Lone Ranch road turns west to descend over 

the series of terraces to the coast. Although smaller terraces were seen 

at 1,140, 600, and 400 feet, the principal terrace, having a broad plain 

at lea,st a mile wide, ranges from 850 to 925 feet and corresponds closely 

to the 1^000-foot terrace seen elsewhere. The next largest terrace occurs 

at 250 feet and is well developed near Lone Ranch, This terrace is the 

coastal plain and ranges in elevation from 250 feet at the northern end 

to almost sea level below Crescent City in California, a distance of 50 

miles. There are small sea cliffs and minor terraces on this plain, but 

none of sufficient prominence to break the continuity of the plain."

Terraces in the vicinity of Coos Bay are described by Diller / 

as follows:

"The first terrace, about 60 feet above the present sea level, 

is well displayed between Yokam Point and Cape Arago. The slope of the 

hill north of Cape Arago is like a giant staircase. The sea cliff, at the 

foot of which the present beach now lies, is at that point about 30 feet 

in height and is capped by a terrace at least 200 yards in width. At 

its eastern limit rises a steep slope, an ancient sea cliff, which is capped 

by a second terrace, and so upward a succession of steps and terraces of 

ancient beaches extend to the top of the Mil. Above 800 feet elevation 

the beaches are less distinct, although they may be detected about the 

s-ummits of the highest peaks near the sea. On the southwest side of Bill 

Peak, at an altitude of about 1,500 feet, a terrace is cut in the fissured 

sandstone of the peak. That this terrace is an ancient beach is shown by 

the presence of occasional pebbles and cobblestones upon its surface. Upon 

the eastern side of Seven Devils Hill terraces are well developed, but are 

somewhat broader."

2f Diller, J.'s.', U. S. Geol. Survey"Geoi. Atlas, Coos Bay folio (no. 73), 

p. 1, 1901. 14
81419

Topographic maps of the mountain front between Coos Bay and 

Alsea Bayj3/ show profiles noticeably flattened at heights of about 250, 

500, 800, and 1,000 feet, siiggesting terraces similar to those described.

South of the Chetco River, according to Diller^' "the coastal 

plain lies at the foot of the plateau escarpment, * * * rising to an 

altitude of 1,700 feet. This plateau escarpment has a slope of 17-J-0 , 

and the absence of all clear traces of the terraces so well marked a 

few miles farther north suggests that it is a fault scarp. Only angular 

fragments were found along the east edge of the plain at the foot of this 

steep slope, where a beach would be expected if the plain developed after 

the faulting. rf

Beyond this stretch a comparable series of marine terraces 

reappears on the coastal slopes in California., Those as far south as 

the 3el River have been described by Diller^' and those beyond that 

point by Laws on, i!/

Shore features

As summarized by Johnsoni§/ the principal zones of the shore 

belt are the coast, shore, shore face, and offshore (fig. 6). These zones

Coast

Figure 6.- Elements of shore zones in an advanced stage of development 

(After D. W. Johnson.)

j3/ U. S. G-eol. Survey, maps of Reedsport, Siltcoos Lake, Heceta 

Head, and Waldport quadrangles,

j?/ Diller, J. S-, op. cit. (Bull. 196), p. 28.

10/ Idem, pp. 28-30.

11/ Lawson, A. C., The geology of Carmelo Bay: California Univ. 

Dept. Geology Bull., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 46-57, May 1893; The post-Pliocene 

diastrophism of the coast of southern California; Idem, vol. 1, no. 4, 

pp. 116-157, December 1893; The geomorphogeny of the coast of northern 

California: Idem, vol. 1, no. 8, pp. 241-272, 1894.

12/ Johnson, D. W., Shore processes and shore-line development, 1st 

ed., pp. 159-164, fig. 23, New York, John Wi ley & Sons, 1919/

15
81419

are subdivided into the following elements, some of which may "be lacking 

according to the stage, young or old, of development. The coast includes 

the cliff and an adjacent strip of land of indefinite width. The foot 

of the cliff marks the coast line. rj?he shore is divided into the backshore, which lies "between the high-tide line and the cliff, and the foreshore, which lies "between the high-tide and low-tide lines. The low-tide 

line is also the shore line. As variously understood the term "beach 

includes "both the wave-deposited materials and the zone above low-water 

line in which they are being more or less actively transported. For the 

sake of clearness Johnson proposes to restrict the term beach to the 

deposit. Therefore, the deposit that underlies the foreshore and backshore is the beach. It rests on a wave-cut surface called "by Johnson the 

"bench" but by the placer miners "bedrock. "

The shore-face and offshore zones are permanently under water 

and together form a belt extending out to the edge of the continental 

shelf. Deposits of these submerged zones are continuous with the beach 

and lie upon a surface called the abrasion platform that is continuous 

with the bench and, farther out, up on the uneven original floor of the 

sea.

Development of the coast line

The charts of the United States Coast end G-eodetic Survey show 

that in general the present Oregon shore has reached the stage of development called late youth or submati.irity.13/ Originally winding in and out of 

bays and around promontories formed by the valleys and ridges of a submerged land surface, the shore line has become straightened and simplified 

by the action of the waves in cutting back the headlands and building bars 

across the embayed areas. Along the stretches of terrace plain the shore 

has been cut back vdthoLit change from an original generally simple outline, 

except that as in all other parts that are retreating under wave attack 

numerous small-scale irregularities have developed as a result of differences 

in the resistance of the rocks.

Eetrograded shores

Along the retreating stretches of the shore the more resistant 

rocks, mostly unbroken igneous and metaraorphic bodies, stand out as rugged 

capes and promontories. The less resistant rocks, mostly sandstone, shale, 

and fractured igneous masses., are worn back into bays or coves that are 

generally crescentic in outline, and these features are developed in different orders of magnitude, the smaller superimposed on the larger and so on. 

South of Coos Bay the larger of the projecting points are commonly spaced 

a quarter of a mile to 2 miles apart, and the depth of the intervening 

bays or coves, measured from a line joining the outer extremities, ranges

IS/ Johnson, D. W., op. cit., pf 340.

16
81419

from a few hundred feet to a quarter of a mile (fig. 3). The sea cliffs 

likewise vary in steepness according to the character of the rocks, their 

height "being governed of course "by the original topography of the land 

from which they have been carved. Along the terrace-plain shores the sea 

cliff is generally between 40 and 100 feet high but reaches a height of 

225 feet at Cape Blanco (fig. 2). On several mountainous promontories the 

cliff is 500 to 800 feet high and reaches 1,000 feet or more on Tillamook 

Head.

Around many of the capes and headlands the wave-cut bench is 

relatively steep and generally swept baro of debris by the waves. The 

stretches that are nearly always devoid of any noteworthy beach deposit 

aggregate perhaps 50 miles in length. On the other hand, the crescentic 

indentations are bordered with a gently sloping bench on which a beach 

deposit is generally present. Owing to the fact that this deposit consists of material in transit, it varies in extent and composition from 

place to place and from time to time. At most times and places the part 

above low water is not more than a few feet thick, 50 to 200 feet wide, 

and made up of sand with pebbles, cobbles, or boulders, in varying proportions, 

Driftwood with huge logs is generally found stranded almost everywhere 

along high-tide line and in some of the coves has accumulated extensively* 

Beaches of the type described aggregate perhaps 100 miles in length, and 

most of them are south of Coos Bay. In places and at times they contain 

placer deposits, which are described boyond.

In places the retreat of the shore has halted and a readvance 

began. Such stretches are characterized by a simple shore line. They 

extend for about 5 miles south and 3 miles north of the Rogue River, 4 

miles south of Euchre Creek, half a mile or so north of the 31k River, 

and a short distance south of whisky Run. South of the Rogue River the 

beach at the north end is about 1,200 feet wide, and its extremity is 

a short spit with two recurved points (fig. 2b). Southward it narrows 

gradually and tapers out near Cape Sebastian. At Gold Beach the foreshore 

part (fig. 7) is about 500 feet wide, and its landward limit is a ridge 

of sand and driftwood. Back of this ridge for about 700 feet is a back~ 

shore deposit, whose surface lies just above high, tide and is slightly 

uneven, with half-buried logs, sand drifts, and ridges that mark the 

foreshore deposits at former stages. About two thirds of the way back 

the surface rises 3 or 4 feet and continues at that level to the back. 

This higher part has became forested. On the lower part little or no 

vegetacion has obtained a foothold. Apparently the shore was first cut 

back to the position of the cliff, then advanced by the addition of 

material from the sea, was worn back again part way, was slightly elevated, 

and finally advanced to its present position.

North of the Rogue River (fig. 8) and south of Euchre Creek 

the beaches are similar to the one just described, except that they are 

narrower and without a noticeable division into higher and lower parts* 

These retrograded-prograded shores also contain beach placers, which 

are described beyond.

17
81419

Prograded shores

Shores that have advanced seaward from their original position 

"by the construction of harrier Reaches and "bay-mouth bars, including 

spits, occur along nearly half the coast line. They are characterized 

"by a simple outline and a voluminous beach. Horth of Coos Bay for 50 

miles a "barrier "beach was 'built in front of an extremely irregular shore 

of submergence. Material from the sea has been added to the barrier 

until the deposit is now a quarter of a mile or more wide, the landward 

margin "being somewhat obscured by sand dunes. The embayed area at the 

back has been largely filled by drifting sand and marsh deposits, but 

parts of the former lagoons remain. In several valleys in the hilly 

country at the back are lakes held a little above sea level by sand 

drifts.

Between Tillamook Head and the Columbia Eiver is a similar 

beach deposit 20 miles long and a mile or more wide. It is distinctly 

ridged as if widened by successive additions of wave-deposited material. 

Shorter beaches are formed by bars and related deposits and spits that 

block the mouths of eight or ten bays between Tillamook Head and Heceta 

Head, Other stretches of shore of the same type as those described 

extend from the Coquille Eiver 5 miles north, from Twomile Creek near 

Bandon 12 miles south to Flora ! s Lake, and for short distances at 

G-arrison Lagoon, near Port Orford, and at the mouths of Euchre Creek, 

the Pistol River, and a few other streams.

Extent of shore migration

In front of most of the shores that are retreating under wave 

attack the charts of the Coast and Geodetic Survey show a belt of islands 

and submerged rocks that ranges from a quarter of a mile to 4 miles in 

width and averages at least a mile. Opposite Bandon, Brookings, and 

several other places some of the islands have flat tops corresponding 

in altitude to the terrace plain on the adjacent mainland,, The flattopped islands are evidently remnojits of the land area that have been 

cut away by the waves at present sea level, and the rocky belt as a whole 

is interpreted as a measure of the shore retreat. The greatest recessions 

thus indicated have occurred along stretches at Port Orford, at Cape 

Blanco, and north of the Rogue River. From Heceta Head north the different 

promontories are indicated in the same way to have been cut back a quarter 

of a mile to 1-J- miles*

Along the prograded shores the land appears to have been extended 

as much as 3 or 4 miles in places, but the land"area thus gained is 

apparently less than the area lost along the retreating shores t The most 

striking result of the shore migrations has been the straightening and 

shortening of the coast line.

18
Sea level

Figure 7.- Profile and section at Gold Beach, a, Rusty consolidated 

marine sand (Pleistocene offshore beds); b, "bedrock" (prePleistocene shale and sandstone); c, older backshore deposit? 

d, newer backshore deposit;e, foreshore deposit; f, mining 

trench*

Figure 8.- Profile and section half a mile north of Doyles Point, a, 

Marine sand (Pleistocene); b, ^bedrock" (greenstone); C, mining 

trench ; d, backshore deposit; e, foreshore deposit.

19
81419

Shore-zone formations

The sand and other materials of the foreshore are subject to 

almost continuous wave action, which veries in intensity according to 

the tides and the weather. As a result of this process part or all 

of the deposit is at different times shifted from place to place, sorted 

according to weight end size, and redeposited more or less in order, 

with the heavier and coarser grains concentrated at the bottom. In 

addition to this vertical arrangement the waves tend to concentrate 

the heavier and coarser materials toward the landward edge of the deposit. 

It is a rule well illustrated along the Oregon coast that the boulders 

and most of the black sand are found toward the landward edge in both 

the ancient and the modern beaches.

The backshore part of the beach is an aggregate of layers, each 

of which was originally a foreshore deposit. Their accumulation at a 

particular place is due to an excess of sediment transported there by shore 

currents. As a result of changing conditions, a backshore developed at 

one time may be cut away at another.

In the submerged zones adjacent to the beach the processes of 

erosion, transportation, and deposition are more or less effective, accord-' 

ing to the depth of the water, the width of the continental shelf, and other 

considerations. Wave motion diminishes gradually from the surface downward 

but may at times be sufficient at a depth of several hundred feet to shift 

loose sand or pebbles back and forth on the sea floor, Wave-generated and 

other currents are at times capable, down to the same or even greater 

depths, of transporting largo quantities of material from one part of the 

coast to another. The action of the waves and currents tends to reduce 

the beach materials to a finer teyture and to sort and re-sort them continually. During this process the finest particles are held in suspension 

and finally transported to deep and quiet water. As a result the beach 

and adjoining offshore deposits are characteristically free of clay or 

silt. In places strong undertow or other subsurface currents may sweep 

coarse material well out on the abrasion platform, but in general the 

landward movements of the water,particularly the surf, seem to be the 

stronger and to hold the coarser materials toward the upper edge of the 

beach until they are reduced in size.

Offshore beds

Soundings by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey show 

that the Oregon coast is bordered by a gently sloping submerged shelf 

15 to 60 miles wide. For distances of 3 to 15 miles out from the shore 

the submarine surface is either rocky or veneered with sand, pebbles, and 

shells, Farther out the soundings, as a rule, show finer material. The 

outer limit of the sandy zone is generally at a depth of 300 feet. The 

agitation of the water by the waves is apparently sufficient at shallower 

depths to prevent settling of silt or mud. The shallow sandy zone widens 

near the mouths of th6 Columbia and Rogue Rivers, the result apparently 

of sediments discharged by the streams. The huge amount of the sand and 

silt brought down by the Columbia River is indicated by a submarine bank 

30 miles wide.

30
Sand dunes

The prograded shores described are generally bordered by sand 

dunes that in places extend inland a mile or more. The widest bolts of 

drifted^ sand are north of the Coquille Elver entrance and between Coos 

Bay and the Siuslaw River. Some of the dunes are as much as 100 feet high, 

but generally they are 50 feet or less. At Hfliislcy Bun and south of the 

Pistol River the sand has crept above the sea cliffs and formed a narrow 

dune belt along the edge of the terrace plain. In most places tfte dunes 

have become fixed by forest vegetation within a short distance of the shore.

Sediments related to ancient shores

The terraces at different heights above sea level are stated by 

Dillerli/ to be "capped more or less completely with Pleistocene marine 

sediments." The highest of these sedimentary bodies is on the 1,500- foot 

terrace on Bill Peak and neighboring summits, about 9 miles southeast 

of Bandon. It consists of sand and is as much as 100 feet thlck.i§y A 

body on the spcur north of the Sixes River at a height of 800 feet consists 

of 15 feet or less of black or gray sand with pebbles and is locally covered 

with an "overburden" 50 or 60 feet thick. A placer mine in this deposit 

is described by Eornor.IS./ So\xth of the Sixes Biver considerable areas of 

marine sediments are mapped by Diller iZ/ between altitudes of 500 and 

1,000 feet.

The largest area of the Pleistocene marine sediments covers the 

terrace plain extending from Port Orford north nearly to Cape Arago. It 

includes material deposited when the sea stood at several different heights 

up to 300 or 400 feet, but the great bulk of it was formed when the sea 

level was about 170 feet higher than now. At that stage wave-cut cliffs 

were developed in the shores extending 3 or 4 miles north of tho Sixes 

River and about 4 miles north of Cut Creek. The beach deposit along these 

stretches contains several placer mines, which are described beyond. As 

exposed by the mine workings the beach consists of stratified gray and 

black sand with cobbles and boulders and, more or less driftwood. In 

places it is cemented with, iron oxides. It is from a foot or two to 10 

or 15 feet thick and is generally overlain by sand of probable wind-blown 

origin that in places is 50 feet or more thick.

The terrace plain extending seaward from this old beach is 

partly a plain of marine denudation and partly a constructional feature 

built of shore~face or offshore deposits. In the neighborhood of Port 

Orford and Cape Blanco exposures of the rock platform and the presence 

of Silver Butte, a rock mass not entirely cut away by wave erosion, stand*- 

ing above the plain, indicate that the general shore line was cut back 2 

or 3 miles. Along a stretch extending from Denmark to a point north of the 

Coquille River no abrasion pla'tform is exposed except at Bandon. ContinuDiller, J.S., Topographic development of the Klamath Mountains: 

U. S. Geol, Survey Bull. 196, p~, 14, 1902.

15/ Diller, J.S., U. S. Geol f Survey Gteol. Atlas, Coos Bay folio 

(no. 73), p. 3, 1901.

16 / Hornor, R.R. , Notes on black-sand deposits of southern Oregon and 

northern California; U, S. Bur. Mines Tech, Paper 196, pp. 27-29, 19£8.

17/ Diller, J,s. p U, S* Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Port Orfor4 folio 

(TOO. 89),. 1903 ' PI
81419

ous with the old "beach, however, and extending in places out to the present 

sea cliff are offshore "beds of stratified sand with pebbles (fig. 9). Incomplete exposures show these beds to be as much as 70 feet thick.

Between Denmark and South Twomile Creek is an area of marine 

sand 1 to 2 miles wide. It is built up to the 170-foot beach level, but 

apparently no cliff was ever developed, and the deposit is therefore 

interpreted as an offshore bar or barrier beach. Farther north, where 

the marine beds are crossed by the valleys of Twomile, China, and Johnson 

Creeks, old mine workings imperfectly show a beach deposit at about the 170- 

foot level. There the presence of some coarse gravel and boulders suggests 

a cliff, but if present it is low enough to be concealed by a wind-blown 

sand cover less than 10 feet thick. North of Johnson Creek the body of 

marine sediments widens until it reaches the sea at Bandon. From that 

point east and north it forms a plain that was probably made up of a bar 

and offshore beds with a spit that partly closed a bay extending up the 

Coquille Valley. Across the river is a similar body that still farther 

north is continuoxis with the 170-foot beach.

10 Feet

Figure 9.- Section at road cut east of Bandon. a, Light-buff to gray 

sand; b, rusty sand with pebbles; c, very fine buff sand; d, 

fine sand with pebbles; e, mostly loose pale-buff sand*

The terrace plain surrounding South Slough is underlain by marine 

sediments similar to those of the neighboring coastal plain, above described. 

Exposures at the Chickamin mine and at several mines described by Hornoris/ 

show from 2 to 10 feet of stratified gray and black sand. In places pebbly 

layers are present, find as a rule the beds, are somewhat cemented by iron

18/ Hornor, R.R., op. cit., pp. 14-16.

22
oxides. Above and below the beds described is marine sand, the overlying 

part of which'is generally 10 to 50 feet or more thick. Most of the exposures 

of the layers containing noticeable streaks of black sand range in altitude 

from 25 to 100 feet. When plotted on a vertical plane their projections 

indicate two main horizons of black-sand deposition (figs. 10, 11), The 

lower horizon rises southward within 2 miles from a height of 25 feet to 

120 feet. The upper horizon is indicated at a height of 60 feet for a 

distance of less than a mile. ITo sea cliffs are shown. As the deposition 

of black sand and other materials occurred well out from the shore, all 

are regarded as offshore deposits. No source of the sediments appears other 

than longshore drift. Apparently such drift was carried by currents into 

the large bay which at the terrace-rplain stage occupied the area.

Small areas of marine sediments occur on the terrace plains north 

and south of the Rogue River, at the Pistol Biver, and at Brookings. Sections 

north of the Rogue River made by old mine workings in the sea cliff show 

a beach deposit consisting of about 20 feet of stratified sand and pebbles 

resting on a surface eroded across shale and sandstone (fig. 12). Overlying 

the beach is wind-blown sand, the ancient sea cliff not being exposed. South 

of the Rogue River 20 to 40 feet of beach and offshore beds rest on a bench 

that is near present sea level (fig. 7). At Brookings a thin veneer of 

beach sand and pebbles rests on benches at two different levels, separated 

by a low escarpment representing a former sea cliff (fig. 13). South of 

the Chetco River a few feet of marine sand and pebbles resting on a bench 

at a height of 50 feet are exposed in the sea cliff. Above this deposit 

is alluvial gravel.

i

: Placer deposits

The productive parts of the beach, generally called black sands, 

are layers in which magnetite, chromite, ilmerdte, and other heavy minerals, 

most of which are dark-colored, have been concentrated by the waves. 

Commonly these layers contain very fine particles of gold and platinum 

alloys, and in places the metallic particles are abundant enough to be 

extracted profitably.

So far as known, gold and platinum alloys have been the only 

substances extracted from the beach at a profit, but more or less interest 

in the possibility that the black sands might, in addition to these metals, 

prove a valuable source of many other minerals has persisted since the 

mineralogy of the beach deposits was determined by Day and Richards in 

1905.li/ Although it is true that most of the minerals composing the 

black sands have a market value, the difficulties of profitably recovering 

and marketing them apparently remain to be overcome. The deposits are 

therefore considered chiefly as a source of gold and platinum. They are 

classified according to age and position with respect to the present shore 

line and to ancient elevated shore lines.

19/ Day, D. T-, and Richards, R,H., Black sands of the Pacific slope* 

U* S. Geol. Survey Mineral Resources, 1905, pp. 1175r-1258, 1907.

23
EXPLANATION

Recent marine sand and silt Pleistocene marine 

offshore beds

Black sand horizons Pre-Pleistocene rocks

Figure 10. - North-south profile and section at South Slough,

EXPLANATION

Recent marine 

sand and si It

Pleistocene marine 

offshore beds

Black sand horizons Pre-Plelstocene rocks

Figure 11* - East-west profile and section at South Slough*

2-4
Sea level

100 20O 300 Feet

Figure 12, - Section at Old China mine, Hubbard Mound, a, Recent sandy 

soil containing shell heap; b, Pleistocene gray sand, probably windblown; e, Pleistocene marine sand and cobbles, with streaks of black 

saad9 part of ancient beach; d, bedrock11 (pre-Pleistocene sandstone and shale); e, present beach.

Feet

300-i

2CO100-

Terrace plain

Terrace plain

Sea level

EXPLANATION

Pleistocene beach anH offshore beds Pre-Pleistocene rocks

Figure 13 * Cross profile and section at Brookings.

25
81419

production

No records are available of the early production from the Oregon 

beaches but they are popularly re-ported to have yielded a large amount of 

gold. Since 1902, however, the records show a total of more than $60,000 

worth of gold and platinum, distributed as follows:

Production of gold and platinum from Oregon "beach placers,

' 1903-29 

[Data from V. C. Heikes, U. S. Bur. Mines, San Francisco]

Locality

Whisky RunBull ards

Port OrfordCape Blanc o

Ophir-Gold Beach

Newport

Gc

Ounces

804

869

761

414

2,648

>ld

Value

$16,562

17,901

15,676

8,528

53,677

Platinum

$1,707

138

 

53

1,948

Total value

.$18,269

18,069

15,676

60,615

Occurrence and distribution

The gold and platinum alloys recovered from the beach deposits 

occur as particles most of which range in size from that of a small 

pinhead to microscopic specks. A scjnple of platinum from the Pioneer 

mine consists mostly of rounded flat grains from 0.8 to 0.05 millimeter 

(about 0.03 to 0.002 inch) in diameter and from 0.05 to 0.005 millimeter 

or less in thickness. These grains weigh from 0.55 to 0.01 milligram. 

At the ratt, of $20 an ounce, about 20 of the larger of 1,100 ox* the smaller 

particles would be required to be worth 1 cent. Still smaller specks, 

mostly rough and irregular, form a relatively inconsiderable part of the mass. 

In several deposits elsewhere in both the present and ancient "beaches most 

of the gold observed consists of particles that range in size from miscroscopic 

specks to thin flakes about 1 millimeter (about 0.04 inch) in diameter. Those 

composing a sample from the beach south of Cape Blanco weighed from 0.035 

to 0.215 uiilligran. At the rate of $20 an ounca, about 500 of the smaller 

or 75 of the larger particles would be worth 1 cent. Still smaller particles 

are present in all the samples obtained, but in none do they form the "bulk 

of the mass.

26
81419

Pay streaks

Although a few specks of gold or platinum can he found almost 

anywhere along the present and ancient beaches, the workable deposits so 

far discovered form only a part of the whole and, as a rule are confined 

to the beaches bordering the shores that have receded under wave attack.

Present beach

Stretches of the shore that have been cut back at existing 

sea level border parts of the coast south of Coos Bay and north of Heceta 

Head. Along most of these stretches the waves are still eroding the 

land. In a few places after first cutting back they have built the shores 

forward. Around most of the rocky points and headlands the bench is 

nearly always swept bare. Slsewhere a beach from a few feet to 200 or 

300 feet y/ide and at least a foot or two thick is generally present. 

Along the retrograded-prograded stretches there is a permanent beach from 

200 to 1,000 feet wide. At one time or another gold has provably been 

mined along most parts of all these beaches, which together are more than 

100 miles long.

300 Feet

Figure 14.- Section at mouth of Whisky Ran. a, Recent dune sand; b, 

Pleistocene marine sands (offshore beds); c, present beach.

In the shores that are now retreating the beach varies in 

extent and composition from time to time as the resxilt of storms and 

tides. Thus a stretch that is barren on one day or in one season may be 

productive at other times. There are, however, certain stretches that 

have been richer and are more often workable than the rest. !Ehese are, 

in order from north to south, in the vicinity of Newport, Whisky Run, 

Cape Blanco, Port Orford, and the Rogue River.

Details concerning the beaches at Viewport are not available 

except the production of late years reported above. At Whisky Ron the 

beach in the later part of June 1931 was 3 or 4 feet thick near the upper 

edge at the foot of the cliff (fig. 14). It contained a large proportion 

of pebbles and cobbles, and the lower foot or two was heavy with black 

sand. Gold and platinum alloys were being recovered to an amount not 

learned by a group of miners using a scraper, elevator, revolving screen, 

and sluices.

37
81419

Early in July 1931 the beach south of Cape Blanco for 2 miles 

or .more was from a few inches to 2 or 3 feet thick in a zone 20 to 40 

feet wide next to the cliff. It consisted of "black and gray sand with 

many cobles and boulders, but the landward edge of the belt was largely 

covered with driftwood, including huge logs. Q5ie black sand was mostly 

concentrated oh bedrock in a layer a foot or less thick, which in places 

was exposed and in places was covered with gray sand. Several miners were 

at work using rockers or movable sluices, for vihich they obtained water 

from a small flume attached to the vertical face of the cliff above the 

waves at high tide. From information given by the operators it was estimated that the black sand layer yielded from $1 to $2 a ton in gold 

(reckoned at $20 an ounce) and platinum alloys, of which the platinum 

formed one-twentieth to one-tenth of the total value.

In the retrograded-prograded beaches extending north and south 

of the Rogue River and south of Euchre Creek a pay streak, said to have 

been very rich, was mined in the "early days." It lay along the inner 

edge of the beach next to the cliff and was at least 20 or 30 feet wide. 

At Gold Beach a second pay streak about 200 feet out from the cliff is 

indicated by several open cuts. This pay streak was formed during a 

pause in the forward growth of the shore.

The unworked parts of the backshore consist of sand, both wavedeposited and wind-blown, with a small amount of pebbles and more or 

less half-buried driftwood. At one place north of the Rogue River an 

open cut 6 feet deep exposed in 1931 a 3-foot layer at the bottom containing 50 percent of black sand. Panning tests yielded a few fine 

particles of gold.

Kie reports of operators given by Butler and Mitchell ' 

indicate that parts of the beach average $1 a ton in gold and platinum, 

found mostly in a 4-foot layer on bedrock.

No mining was being done on the foreshore in July 1931, and 

no concentrations of black sand were visible, but it is said that heavy 

seas occasionally "pan down" workable deposits.

Ancient beach and offshore beds

Pay streaks have been worked in the ancient elevated beaches 

or related offshore beds in the terrace plains north of Port Orford, 

north of the Rogue River, around South Slough, and in a terrace 800 feet 

above sea level at the Peck mine, on the spur north of the Sixes River. 

On the terrace plain north of Port Orford the deposits were formed when 

the sea stood about 170 feet higher than now. At that level the shore 

was cut back along two stretches one of about 4 miles between the Sixes 

River and Denmark, the other of about 4 miles extending north of Oat Creek, 

Pay streaks that were concentrated by the waves f.long parts of these 

stretches are exposed in the Madden and Butler mines, north of the'Sixes 

River, and in the Pioneer, Eagle, Pletcher & Myers, and Rose mines, north 

of Cat Creek (fig. 3a). At these mines the pay streak ranges from a few 

feet to 200 or 300 foot in width, is 3 or 4 feet thick in the middle, and 

tapers toward the edges. It consists largely of black sand arranged in 

layers alternating with gray sand. More or less driftwood and pebbles,

20/ Butler, G>M., and Mitchell, G.J. , Preliminary survey of the 

geology and mineral resources of Curry County, Oregj Mineral Resources of 

Oregon, vol. 2, no. 2, pp, 49-52, 1916.

28
81419

cobbles, or boulders are present. The deposit rests on bedrock at 

the foot of the ancient sea cliff and is generally somewhat cemented 

by iron oxides. Natural exposures were found in the valleys of streams 

that cross the terrace plain. Between the valleys the pay streak is 

covered with 20 to 50 feet of wind-blown sand on which is a soil supporting 

a generally thick forest.

Between Twomile and Fairy Creeks, east of Bandon, both ancient 

beach and foreshore beds contain black-sand layers. Old excavations 

covering less than an acre at China and Twomile Creeks imperfectly expose 

black sand and boulders. At the G-eiger and Iowa mines, on Fairy Creek, 

1 to 3 feet of black sand interbedded with gray sand occurs in offshore 

beds.

At several places sround South Slough mine workings expose in 

sections layers of black sand that at most places aggregate about 4 feet 

in thickness and extend at least 200 or 300 feet horizontally. Hie black 

sand is interbedded with gray and brown sand and generally is somewhat 

cemented. At most places from 5 to 50 feet of gray sand covers the pay 

streak. The formation is regarded as offshore beds.

North of the Rogue River a black-sand layer 1 foot thick lying 

on bedrock at a height of 30 feet is exposed by mine workings in the 

present sea cliff. It is overlain by 30 or 40 feet of gray sand, most 

of which appears to be wind-blown. The horizontal extent of the deposit 

is not shown.

At the Peck mine black sand interbedded with gray sand and 

pebbles is distributed through a layer as much as 14| feet thick composing 

a beach or offshore bed related to a terrace at an altitude of about 800 

feet. The deposit extends over more than 1-|- acres and is covered by an 

overburden from 60 feet thick down to the vanishing point.

Origin

Some of the miners believe that the gold of the beaches comes 

up out of the sea, an idea suggested by the fact that after a storm a 

formerly barren stretch may be found to be gold-bearing. This notion 

is true so far as the immediate source of some of the gold is concerned* 

Materials composing the foreshore arc carried out in the offshore zone at 

one time and returned to the beach at another. In the process a shift 

up or down the coast may occur. The huge amount of material composing 

the prograded beaches north of Coos Bay and between Tillamook Head and the 

Columbia River, for example, must have been cast up by the waves from the 

shore- face and offshore zones. The sea was therefore the immediate source 

of whatever gold and other minerals those beaches contain. Soundings of 

the Coast and Geodetic Survey show black sand to occur in the offshore 

zone at the present time. Gold and other minerals are doubtless present 

also. The occurrence of gold, platinum, and black sand in ancient offshore 

deposits at the Iowa mine and around South Slougti is described beyond. 

For the beaches that border retreating shores, however, the most of the

21 / Hornor, R.R. , op. cit., p, 28.

29
81419

gold and other minerals come directly from the rocks that are being 

eroded by the waves. The relative distribution of the placers with 

reference to the different kinds of rock in the sea cliffs indicates 

that sandstone, conglomerate, or other sediments of Tertiary age and 

sand and gravel of Pleistocene age composing offshore beds and beaches 

related to ancient shore lines are the chief if not the only sources of 

the metals. These rocks contain no metalliferous lodes. Their gold 

and platinum are detrital and, as sketched in the following pages, were 

derived ultimately from metal-bearing formations in the interior and 

transported seaward by streams.

Source of the gold

A little placer gold may be found in almost any section of 

the beach, but the bulk of it is confined to certain stretches south 

of Coos Bay. That part of the coast is opposite an area' in southwestern 

Oregon and the adjoining part of California described by Billeriii/ as 

the "Klamath Mountains. " ,

The Klamath Mountains contain several areas of gold-bearing 

lodes. One is at the head of the South Pork of the Sizes River,.2-?/ about 

15 miles east of the coast at Port Orford. Others farther south at 

Mule Creek and other localities scattered through Curry Countyii/ are from 

10 to 30 miles inland. Partner back from the sea are many lodes in the 

Rogue and Klamath River basins. Opposite the comparatively lean part 

of the coast north of Coos Bay gold-bearing lodes are unknown.

In the Klamath Mountains the formations are chiefly folded and 

crumpled schists1 and slate, greenstone, serpentine, gabbro, diorite, and 

other intrusive and extrusive rocks, all of which are Cretaceous or older. 

On the north and northwest these rocks give place to successively later 

formations that are chiefly sandstone, shale, and conglomerate, with 

more or less basalt and related igneous rocks.

North of Coos Bay less information is available, but it is known 

that in general the prevailing formations are Tertiary sediments, chiefly 

sandstone, and dikes, sills, and flows of basaltic and andesitic composition*

22/ Diller, J.S., Topographic development of the Klamath Mountains: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 196, 1902.

2^1 Diller, J.S-, U, S. Geol, Survey Geol. Atlas, Port Orford folio 

(no. 89) pp. 5, 6, 1903.

24/ Butler, G.M., and Mitchell, G.J,, op. cit., pp. 73-114.

30
81419

The topographic; development of the region "began with the 

emerge&ee in early Cretaceous1 time of an area that formed an extensive 

island^' Afterward thig area was submerged and again elevated, this 

time as part of the continent. Succeeding events include several remarkable vertical oscillations that are recorded in flat erosion surfaces 

and marine terrances at different heights ..§§' The oldest and highest of 

these surfaces, the Klamath peneplain (Eocene-Miocene), is represented 

"by extensive flat and gently sloping areas that range in altitude from 

about 2,500 feet near the Columbia River to 4,000 feet at the California 

line and still higher farther south. Other flats 500 feet lower than the 

Klamath peneplain represent coastal plains and wide inland valleys ("Sherwood peneplain") that were developed after an uplift of the Klamath pene~ 

plain and during the second cycle of erosion. A further uplift, which 

raised the land 600 feet higher than at present, permitted the cutting 

of deep, marrow valleys during the third cycle of erosion. In Pleistocene 

time the land to a height of 1,500 feet above present sea level was sub" 

merged briefly. Its subsequent emergence was interrupted by pauses that 

permitted the waves to cut terraces at different levels. The upward move-* 

ment continued until the land stood somewhat higher than now. After a 

pause the present sea level was established by a submergence that caused 

the tide to run several miles up the rivers north of Bandon but had much 

less effect south of that point J?Z/

The old shore line ,at the edge of the terrace plain north of 

Port Orford, as shown at several mines in the old beach, now stands about 

170 feet above sea level. In the narrow plain north of the Eogue River a 

shore line is shown at one place at an altitude of 30 feet; at Brookings 

there are two shore lines, 120 and 200 feet high. North of Coos, Bay no 

counterparts of the terrace plains appear. The facts cited might be 

interpreted to mean that south of Coos Bay the sea developed plains here 

and there while standing at different levels, but that "north of that place 

it failed for some unknown reason to either cut or build one. A more plausible explanation is that the elevation of the coast differed in amount 

ill different places. In that event the terrace plains south of Port Orford 

may have been formed at one or two still-stands and were afterward elevated 

differentially. The absence of the terrace plain north of Coos Bay is 

most probably due to the fact that the latest subsidence carried it below 

present sea level,

25/ Condon, Thomas, The Two Islands and what came of them, 1902; 

revised and enlarged by E. C. McCormack in 1910 as "Oregon geology." 

26/ Diller, J.S., OTD. cit. (Bull. 196), pp. 45-49. 

2_7/ Idem, pp. 59, 60.
81419

Bodies of gold-bearing conglomerate formed from the erosion of 

the Cretaceous island mentioned lie on or near the surface of the Zlamath 

peneplain.^/ Most of these bodies are rather far from the sea, "but one 

of them extends to the shore near the mouth of the Zlamath River and is 

the immediate source of the beach gold. ' Other bodies of gold-bearing 

gravel, ranging in age from Tertiary to Recent, are found here and there 

from the interior almost to the present shore along the Bogue, Zlamath, 

and Sixes Rivers. Baring Cretaceous and Teriary time the products of 

erosion were carried northward, as well as in other directions and deposited 

as beds of sandstone, shale, and conglomerate. Fins particles of gold may*.." 

have been carried out with these sediments. In fact, Diller has expressed 

the opinion that certain of these beds (Eocene shale and sandstone).in the 

neighborhood of Coos Bay have yielded gold directly to the beach.^/ There 

is also a suggestive relation between a bed of Miocene conglomerate that 

is exposed to the waves south of Cape BlancoS/ (fig. 15) and the fact 

that the beach at that place is one of the more productive.

'^>'".^* : «V>-' > >'.;

£. » ? .- .: * £ * :*: Ses level

100 200 300 Feet

Figure 15.- Section south of Cape Blanco. a, Pleistocene marine sand and 

gravel (offshore beds); b, conglomerate (Empire formation, Tertiary); 

c, sandstone and tuff (Empire formation); d, present beach.

28/ Diller, J. S., Mineral resources of southwestern Oregon; U. S. G-eol. 

Survey Bull. 546, p. 89, fig. 9, 1914. Haley, C.S., Gold placers of 

California: California State Mining Bur. Bull. 92, p. 84, 1923. Dunn, B. 

L. jftiiriferous conglomerate in California: California State Mineralogist 

12th Rept., pp. 459-471, 1894. Turner, H.¥., The Cretaceous auriferous 

conglomerate of the Cottonwood mining district, Siskiyou County, Calif.? 

Eng. and Min. Jour., vol. 76, pp. 653, 654, 1903.

29/ Chase, A.W., The auriferferous gravel deposit of Gold Bluffs [Calif.]: 

1m. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 7, pp. 379-384, 1874. Haley, S.C., op. cit., p. 84.

30/ Diller, J.S., U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Coos Bay folio 

(no. 73), p. 6, 1901.

31/ Diller, J.S., U.S.Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Port Orford folio 

(no. 89) p. 3, 1903. 32
81419

From the foregoing statements it appears that detrital gold 

from lodes in the interior has "been transported seward by successive 

steps at intervals during a long time. The placers at Gold Beach and 

in the elevated "beach east of Port Orford probably owe their comparative 

richness mostly to gold that was carried out by ancestors of the present 

Rogue and Sixes Eivers during the later stages in the topographic development of the region. The deposits at Whisky Ron and in the elevated beaches 

east of it, however, have no relation to any existing gold-bearing stream. 

Their gold may have come from the interior during the earlier stages of 

development, when the drainage was more northerly than now.

In view of the fact that little shore erosion appears to have 

occurred around South Slough, the rather lean deposits of that area are 

thought to have been carried to place by shore or offshore currents. 

The information at hand is too scanty to explain the relative concentration 

of gold in the vicinity of Newport. Elsewhere north of Coos Bay the small 

amounts of beach gold reported may be ascribed to shore erosion alone or 

to longshore drift.

In the past, as at present, the streams sorted the gold during 

its transportation, leaving the larger grains near the source and distributing progressively smaller and smaller particles downstream. This selective 

process, together with attrition, probably accounts for the fine subdivision of the gold throughout the beaches.

Source of the platinum

In this region, as in many others, a general association of 

platinum and platinum alloys with serpentinous rocks is indicated, but 

no definite source of the metal is known. In both the beach and stream 

placers platinum is about as widely distributed as gold, but the proportions 

of the two vary from place to place. There is a well-marked association 

of platinum and chromite, as shown, for example, at Whisky Run and at 

mines on the old beach to the east. There the reported production shows 

a ratio of gold to platinum, measured in dollars, of somewhat less than 

10 to 1. At the same places chromite, as shown by samples collected by 

Day and Richards^/ and by the writer, is by far the most abundant of the 

black-sand minerals. At Port Orford and Cape Blanco the ratio of gold 

to platinum is about 100 to 1; at ITewport it is 160 to 1. Ho platinum 

is reported from Ophir and Gold Beach. At all these places chromite is 

relatively low. Serpentinous rocks containing chromite are widely 

distributed in the KLamath Mountain region, and the association in the 

beaches of chromite with platinum suggests that serpentine was the 

original source of both. Except for the chromite no relation between any 

particular black-sand mineral and the metals is apparent. It appears, 

however, that most of the platinum and chromite, as well as the gold, must 

have come from the interior, for they bear no relation to particular 

areas of serpentine - as along the lower Rogue River, for example - that 

are exposed near the coast,

£ ' '"" rTvrl '- " ' """ ' ' '" "M 'i" ui 11 iinn iiiiiii'in i | i ii *+i-*~~^^~t*^.~ *~i**i~^mi^tf**t~m>~l't*H~**+**~i-<~-*~-**r!t |,i MM i i mi muni 4U'F ni'mpi

, J32/ Day, D.T., and Richards, R.H., op. cit., pp. 1208-1214.

33
Tenor and extent of remaining deposits

Samples and assays,.- The reports of Hornor and of Day and Richards 

already cited give the results of several assays of the Mack sands or other

*oarts of the teach for gold and platinum. In view of the fact that little 

other definite information as to the tenor of the deposits is to he had, 

it is worth while to examine the results somewhat critically. There is 

no reason to doubt that Honoris samples correctly represent certain thick** 

nesses of deposit at certain places. Altogether he reports about 27 ^samples 

from beaches or offshore beds in place that range from 2 feet to a little 

more than 9 feet in thickness and average a little more than 4| feet. 2!h© 

samples wore taken at widely separated points from South Slxwqgh to an old 

" 'each high on the mountain front east of Port Orford but are not claimed 

to be numerous enough to form a basis for any definite estimate.

The gold and platinum content of Hornor T s samples as determined

*>y assay ranges from 0 to 0.06 ounce to the ton, but tfte accuracy of 

these results may be questioned. The usual procedure in assaying (which 

in the absence of evidence to the contrary is assumed to have been applied 

to these samples) is to quarter down the sanple and finally select a small 

part from which the metals are extracted by melting. A monents consideration 

will show that it is difficult if not impossible to mix a sample so as to 

obtain an even distribution of the metals it contains in the form of free 

particles of different sizes. If, for example, the part finally selected 

for melting is 1 assay ton (29,166 milligrams) and this part should happen 

to contain one of the smaller particles of gold weighing 0.01 milligram, 

the result would be taken to indicate 0.01 ounce (about 20 cents) of gold 

~o a ton. The ton which the sample purports to represent should contain 

59,166 such particles, and the particles should be evenly distributed.

*s the gold and platinum particles in the black sands range from less 

tfian 0.01 to more than 0.3 milligram in weight and are almost certainly 

rjot distributed evenly, the result is manifestly doubtful. It follows 

tnat the larger the part selected for melting the more nearly correct 

the result, and that relatively large samples are required-to be in any 

measure representative of such deposits. If, as indicated by the 

description, ' Hornor*s samples were assayed as outlined above, the results 

are suggestive only. Another cutting from a sample that had yielded no 

£old on the assay of the first cutting might show it to be richer than 

any others, and vice versa. The practical conclusion is that to obtain 

a dependable result the total gold in a relatively large sample should 

le determined,

33/ Hornor, B.R., op* cit,., r. 15.

34
The report of Day and Richards 54/ lists a large number of samples 

from the beaches of the Oregon coast, most of them from places north of 

Tillamook Head. As described many of the samples consisted of crude 

sand, and some of these were as large as 1 carload. Other samples consisted of concentrate, for some of which the degree of concentration is 

known but not for others. The assay scheme used for these samples included 

the selection usually of 1,000 grams (a little more than 2 pounds) from 

which the metals were extracted by concentration and amalgamation. From 

the results obtained on this portion the value of the whole was estimated 

in great refinement (to cents per ton). Thus very precise-appearing results 

were obtained, but owing to the fact that neither the conditions under which 

the samples were collected nor the extent of any deposits they may represent 

are known these results mean nothing more than the fact that in places gold 

and platinum are present.

Present beach.- Owing to the transitory character of the foreshore of the present beasji, definite estimates of either the quantity or 

the value of the metals it may contain are not warranted. On this deposit 

the limitations imposed by tides and other natural conditions rule out anything like continuous or large-scale operations. On the other hand, 

deposits that will pay to work intermittently in a small way by single 

individuals or small groups will continue to be found here and theEp and 

now and then. New concentrations are, of course, most likely to bq found 

after the winter storms have remade the beach. The stretches of foreshore 

in which workable deposits may be found are practically limited to retreating shores. These aggregate perhaps 100 miles in length, but only a small 

part of this distance contains such deposits at any one time. The beaches 

that are most often found to be remunerative are in the vicinity of Newport, 

Whisky Run, Cape Blanco, Fort Orford, and Gold Beach.

The tenor of the foreshore deposits is most usefully stated in 

terms of recovery under the working conditions that are possible. With 

equipment ranging from a pan to a light sluice, one man can recover from a 

few cents to about $2 a day at times and in places, gold being reckoned 

at $20 an ounce. Exceptionally as much as $100 a'day has been taken out 

near Whisky Run. 35/ Some comparably rich concentrations may, of course, 

form again, but in general only the low-grade deposits may be expected.

The backshore of the present beach is a formation of considerable 

extent, not subject to shifting by the waves. On shores that have first 

retreated and then advanced pay streaks in the backshore have been mined, 

but evidence as to the value of the remainder is somewhat contradictory. 

On one hand abandoned plants indicate that attempts to mine the material 

have been unprofitable. On the other hand it evidently contains, at least 

in places, noteworthy amounts of gold and platinum. So far as could be 

learned no systematic sampling of the backshore has been done. Parts of 

it may prove to be workable, due allowance being made for natural handicaps. Roughly the backshore bads occupy areas aggregating 12 miles in 

length and ranging from 700 feet or more to the vanishing point in width. 

Most of these areas are north and south of the Rogue River. Short stretches 

of beach south of Whisky Run, north of the Elk River, and perhaps at a few 

other places belong in the same category.

34/Day, D.T., and Richards, R. H., op. cit r , pp. 1206-1214. 

So/ Diller, J.S., U.S. C-eol. Survey G-eol. Atlas, Coos Bay folio 

(no. 73), p. 5, 1901.
81419

Ancient "beaches and offshore beds.** Much of the old beach at 

about 170 feet above sea level which contains the Madden, Pioneer, and 

other mines has been cut away by streams. The remaining parts, which 

aggregate perhaps 8 or 10 miles in length, are found mostly be'tween the 

Sixes River and Denmark, between Twomile and Johnson Creeks,and from a 

point somewhat south of Cut Creek north to Fivemile Creel:. Pay streaks 

ranging from 50 to 200 or 300 feet in \adth and from a few inches to 

several feet in thickness extend through most if not all of the distance 

mentioned. They are generally covered with 20 to 60 feet of sandy overburden, and in most places the richer parts have been mined.

The fact that an ancient beach at the Peck mine, at an -altitude 

of 800 feet on a ridge north of the Sixes P.iver, contains a placer deposit 

encourages the belief that other placers are to be found in the higher 

beaches. A considerable area of marine sands on the ridge south of the 

Sixes Elver probably includes several beaches at different levels between 

the terrace plain and an altitude of 1,000 feet. This area or parts of 

it for which water can be obtained appears to be worth prospecting. The 

terrace plain north of the Rogue River contains a beach at an altitude of 

30 feet that has yielded gold and. may contain some unworked deposit.

The black-sand layers in the offshore beds exposed around South 

Slough and at the Iowa mine, east of Bandon, appear in the aggregate to 

be of conciderable extent. Whatever production has been made from them 

was not learned. Hornor's samples show that in places, at least, they 

contain gold and platinum.

Amounts of black-sand minerals.- The great bulk of the "beaches as 

a whole consists of sand grains of quartz and other minerals and undecomposed r 

rock having a specific gravity less than 3. "The remainder includes a . 

variety of heavier minerals, the most abundant of which are magnetite, 

chromite, ilmenite, garnet, and olivine. As a rule these heavy minerals 

have been mostly concentrated by the waves into layers that range from 

mere seams to beds 5 to 10 feet in greatest thickness and 200 to 300 feet 

in horizontal dimensions. The exposures indicate that beds averaging 3 or 

4 feet thick and 200 feet wide and long are present along at least half 

of a 4-mile stretch extending from the vicinity of Cut Creek north?/ard. 

.Around South Slough bodies of about the same size are distributed through 

zji area of 3 or 4 square miles. Probably they underlie at least a quarter 

of that area. Black-sand layers can be seen at many places elsewhere in 

the ancient beaches, but information as to their extent is scanty. In a 

few places layers of black sand 1 to 4 feet thick were observed in the 

backshore of the present beach north of the Rogue River, At other places 

exposures were lacking. It is likely, however, that this beach contains 

about as much black sand per unit as the ancient beach.

36
81419

The wide distribution of black sand along the coa.st and the 

relative predominance of certain minerals at certain localities is 

shown by the investigations by Day and Richards .2SJ The concentration 

of the black sands evidently varies from place to place. Beds specifically 

mentioned above probably contain 50 percent or more of the heavy minerals.

Although no estimates can be made as to the size of the bodies 

that the samples of Day end Richards may have represented, the analyses 

reported indicate in a general way the relative predominance of certain 

of the black-sand minerals at certain places, as follows:

Magnetite: several places in the beaches of Clatsop County, 

Rogue River beach, and near the Pistol River.

Chromite: Alsea, Lane (Pioneer) mine, and Coos Bay.

Ilmenite: Yaquina Bay.

Garnet: Yaquina Bay.

Olivine: Beaches of Clatsop County, Port Orford beach, and 

Rogue River beach.

Some of the samples from Coos Bay and Yaquina Bay contained 

noteworthy amounts of zircon, and in several samples, mostly from Clatsop 

County, a little monazite was found. Samples collected during the present 

investigation show predominant magnetite in those from the beach north 

of the Rogue River and predominant chromite in those from the old beach 

at the back of the terrace plain north of Port Orford and from the offshore 

beds around South Slough.

Mining Conditions

The conditions under which the beach deposits must be mined

differ in some respects from those governing the operation of stream placers. 

The foreshore deposit can be worked only between tides and with movable 

equipment. The backshore is out of the reach of the waves of at least 

ordinary storms and tides, but workings are likely to be filled and machinery 

buried by wind-blown sand. Salt spray catises rapid corrosion of metallic 

parts. Low position and a high water level make hoisting machinery of some 

sort necessary. Excavation with drag-line scrapers or similar machinery is 

hindered by buried drift v/ood, including huge logs. The deposit is ordinarily 

too shallow for dredging. These difficulties, so far as the backshore is 

concerned, could doubtless be partly or wholly overcome, but only at added 

expense. They are mentioned in order that a true comparison may be made 

between the beaches and other types of placers . Bodies of stream alluvium 

containing as little as 3 or 4 cents a cubic yard have been profitably worked 

where favorably situated for hydraulic mining, and deposits are worked with 

dredges at a cost of less than 10 cents a yard where conditions are favorable. Under the handicaps attached to the beach deposits the cost would 

probably be several times as great. Parts of the elevated beaches are 

suitably situated for hydraulic mining, and in general conditions surrounding them are more favorable than those on the present beach. In deposits 

of both types the metallic particles, owing to their fine subdivision and 

the abundance of heavy sand, are more difficult to recover than in placer 

deposits generally.

36/ Day, D. T., and Richards, R. H., op. cit,, pp. 1206-1214.

37
81419

In the ancient teaches some of the gold is coated with iron rust or other 

material that makes amalgamation difficult. The generally thick overburden of barren sand must be considered in making estimates of yardage 

value. The report of an engineer, J.D. Mereen, referred to below, estimates 

that from the pay streak at the Eagle mine 2 tons of crude sand would yield 

1 ton of black-sand minerals but that removing the overburden would make 

it necessary to handle 17 tons of sand to obtain the ton of concentrate. 

For the present beach (backshore south of Whisky Run, including drifted 

sand) he estimates 1 ton of concentrate from 85 tons of crude sand.

caused by the fact that the black sand is dispersed 

as relatively thin layers with no great quantity at any one place are 

referred to by Hornor 37/ in considering the deposits as a possible source 

of iron ore. The same objections apply to the chromite or other low-price 

minerals in the deposits.

On the other hand, with suitable equipment it is possible to 

separate cleanly several of the black-sand minerals from the others, and 

therefore the deposits should be regarded as a reserve possibly available 

should an emergency make a special demand fcr chromite, ilmenite, zircon, 

etc.

Descriptions of mines 

Pioneer

The Pioneer (Lane) mine, about 2 miles north of Bullards, is in 

an ancient beach at an altitude of 170 feet. At the time of examination 

the mine was being operated with sluice boxes suitable for the small head 

of water then available, and a drag-line scraper was being used to remove 

15 or 20 feet of overburden consisting of gray sand.

The pay streak is a layer of black sand 3 feet or more thick, 

the richer part of which was mined through drifts said to have been made 

more than 60 years ago. Some of the mining timbers as well as an occasion 

al huge log of drift v;ood are exposed by the present workings. Samples 

of the black sand remaining averaged about 3 percent of magnetite and 

55 percent of chromite and ilmenite together. Gold and platinum alloy 

were being recovered by sluicing. A sample of the platinum alloy as 

determined by a spectrographic examination by George Steiger in the 

laboratory of the United States G-eological Survey is composed of a 

relatively very large amount of platinum and smaller amounts of iridium 

and ruthenium. It contains in addition a possible trace of rhodium but 

no osmium or palladium.

Most of the black-sand tailings resulting from former operations 

at the Pioneer mine were washed down Gut Creek until they reached a ponded 

area near the sea known as the Lagoons, where they have formed a deposit 

several acres in extent. A sample from a hole 3 feet deep at one place 

contained 4 percent of magnetite and 60 percent of chromite and ilmenite. 

It is said that the tailings in the Lagoons contain unrecovered gold and 

platinum, and in July 1931 a machine designed to test the deposit for 

these metals was being installed. The result was not learned.

57/ Hornor, R.E., op. Git., p. 12

38
81419

Eagle

The Eagle mine, on Cut Creek north of the Pioneer mine, was 

idle at the time of visit. As described by Eornor 58 / it contains a "bed 

of "black sand 200 to 250 feet wide and several hundred feet long that is 

lenticular in cross section and 6 to 8 feet thick in the middle. This 

"bed is composed of chromite, magnetite, ilmenite, and other heavy minerals, 

with a little gold and platinum. Except along Cut Creek, there is an overburden of 50 to 60 feet of fine-grained gray sand. Part of the deposit 

that has "been worked, mainly by drifting, is said to have made a relatively 

large production, of which 5 to 10 percent of the value was in platinum and 

the remainder in gold.

According to a report made in 1927 "by J.D. Mereen for the owners 

of the property a layer averaging 5 1/4 feet thick yields 50 percent of concentrate composed as follows:

Percent

Chromite, containing 50 percent of Cr203 44.20 

Magnetite 18.90 

Ilmenite, containing 50 percent of Ti02 15.00 

Zirconium [Zircon?] containing 95 percent of

ZrSi04 15.70

91.80

In addition, the material is said to yield $3.50 in gold and 

$1 in platinum (reckoned at $100 an ounce) to the ton.

Owing to the depth of the overburden it is estimated that 17 

tons of crude sand would have to be handled to obtain 1 ton of concentrate.

Chickamin

An open cut of the Chickamin mine, at an altitude of 60 feet 

on the east side of Brown Slough, exposes chiefly gray sand, with streaks 

of black sand and at the bottom a pebbly layer (fig. 16). The black-sand 

streaks range from 1 to 8 inches in thickness and aggregate perhaps 3 or 

4 feet. The whole mass is rather compact and partly cemented by iron 

oxides and is regarded as offshore sediments. At the open cut a plant, 

which was idle at the time of visit, includes a steam shovel, sluices, 

shaking tables, and other equipment. The results of its operation were 

not learned.

A sample of the black sand contains about 85 percent of heavy 

minerals, of which 20 percent is magnetite and 65 percent chiefly chromite, 

with ilmenite and garnet. The remainder is quartz, undecomposed rock grains, 

and rusty brown limonitic cement. This deposit is probably the same as 

one sampled by Hornor in July 1317 39/ and described as on the land of M.J. 

Mathews. Assays ^f Hornor's samples indicate from $1 to $1.55 a ton in

Hornor, R.R., op. cit., pp. 18-21. 

Idem, p. 15.

39
81419

gold and platinum.. Samples are also reported "by Hornor representing 12 

other exposures around South Slough, of "black-sand teds which range from 

3 to 8 feet in thickness. The assays indicated that 8 of the samples 

were barren and that 4 contained gold and platinum worth. 20 to 60 cents 

a ton.. The samples, however, do not represent definite quantities of 

the deposits, and the results, as explained above, are merely qualitative

Figure 16. Section of Pleistocene offshore "beds at Chickamin mine, 

a, Light-gray marine sand} "b, rusty gray marine sand with thin 

streaks of black sand; c, marine sand with pebbles, mottled with 

black and rusty spots; d, gray marine sand,

Iowa

Black-sand layers in offshore beds related to the Pioneer 

(170-foot) beach are explored by workings on the north branch of Fairy 

Creek, 2 miles east of Bandon and 1 1/4 miles south of the main highway. 

The stratigraphic section at this point includes a layer about 50 feet 

thick of sand and pebbles, above which is 50 feet more of gray to buff 

sand, which in turn is overlain by 30 or 40 feet of loose-textured windblown sand. Two streaks of very fine grained black sand 6 and 12 inches 

thick occur in the lower part of the gray marine sand at an altitude of 

about 120 feet. According to W,~M. Briner, wht was prospecting on the 

property, very fine particles of gold and platinum alloys occur in the 

black-rsand layers, and the platinum alloy is commonly the more abundant 

 f the two. A sample of the black sand collected by Mr. Briner contained 

absut 23 percent of magnetite and 64 percent of ilmenite and chromite 

together.

40
±19

Old mines north of Rogue River

At Otter Point and Eubbard Knob, respectively 3 and 4 miles 

north of the Rogue River, mine workings said to have been made several 

years ago "by Chinese consist of two pits, each about 50 by 100 feet in 

area. The production is not known. At both places the deposit rests on 

a wave-eroded surface of shale and sandstone. Each pit exposes a layer 

of black sand and ccbbles, about 1 foot thick, at an altitude of 30 feet, 

overlain by 30 or 40 feet of gray sand streaked with iron rust. Most 

*f the gray sand appears to be wind-blown. The deposit is evidently 

the remnant of an ancient beach that has been largely cut away by the 

waves at existing sea level.

41