Yuba Dredge T he Yuba dredge is digging up gravel on the flood plane of the Yuba River, east of Marysville. Most of the gravel in this panorama is debris washed down from the vast hydraulic mines many miles upstream. This newly refitted machine now digs down to deeper gold-bearing gravels, which may have been buried there ten million years. Like a giant chainsaw this bucket dredge hauls up gold-bearing gravel from 120 feet below. Inside, the gold is captured then the cobbles and gravel are dumped out the back.
Modern procedures call for restoration of the dredge spoils.
Across the pond, the gravels have been reshaped into low hills, covered with soil and replanted with grass. Across the pond here, are the low hummocks of dredge tailings. In the old days, many square miles of streamside woodlands were converted to piles of bare rock by the dredges. Click and drag to move around. Shift key to zoom in.