StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Discovery of Gold in Colorado - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Discovery of Gold in Colorado" tells us about the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. Prospector George A. Jackson discovered placer gold at the present site of Idaho Springs, where Chicago Creek empties into Clear Creek. It was the first substantial gold discovery in Colorado. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.6% of users find it useful
Discovery of Gold in Colorado
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Discovery of Gold in Colorado"

Since the days of Spanish exploration, the presence of gold in present-day Colorado has been rumored. However, it was only during the early 19th century that gold deposits were officially reported from the region while the land was still under the Kansas territory. This led to the gold rush or boom during which a large majority of the white population settled down in the Rocky mountain regions led to the formation of small towns such as Denver later as the population growth increased the Colorado territory was created in the year 1861 followed by the establishment of the Colorado state in 1876. Several explorers came in search of gold and the subsequent major discoveries of gold deposits contributed to the rise of the region’s economy as well as industrial growth (The History of Gold Mining).

The earliest reported discovery of the yellow metal was in the year 1803 when the explorer James Purcell found some nuggets of gold by the South Platte River (The History of Gold Mining). This was followed by other discoveries such as the 1820 expedition led by Lieutenant John. C Fremont during which members of his exploration party discovered gold in about six different places in and around present-day Colorado (A General History of Colorado). However, as the California gold rush happened during this period these findings did not gain much importance; nevertheless, it provided an opportunity for gold-seeking groups to pass through the rocky mountain region of Colorado. As these prospectors returned with very few findings of gold in California, they decided to explore gold along the South Platte River, Cherry Creek, and Clear Creek and were successful (Gold!Gold!Gold!). One such group from Georgia led by William Russell became the first to discover small quantities of placer gold. These people settled down in that region and collected gold deposits from the streams between the years 1858-59. However, rich deposits of gold were found by George Jackson in the year 1859 along the Clear Creek region. With this finding, he began to mine the placer gold deposited in the region near Idaho springs where Clear creek joins Chicago creek. In the same year another gold-seeking prospector from Georgia, John Gregory discovered a quartz vein made of gold resulting in the first discovery of consolidated or lode gold. This paved the way for the establishment of the Blackhawk-Central City mining region near the Creek. Following this find several deposits of gold were found in many locations around present-day Colorado leading to the formation of several mining sites including Boulder Creek, Leadville, and Cripple Creek. Out of the several regions the Cripple Creek district had a rich deposit of gold and has produced about half of the 45 million ounces of gold that came from the Colorado state. The hard rock and placer deposits were mined initially and as the supply became exhausted the surface deposits were mined later for gold production. However, by the year 1920 gold production was reduced due to a shortage of labor, problems with wages, and issues regarding the supply of water. Despite this decline in the production of gold the year 1933 witnessed a rise in the gold prices that caused a small mining boom in the state. This also was short-lived as the following World War II ordered the closure of non-essential mines which led to a dip in the gold prices. Gold production however rose from 1970 when the restrictions on the pricing of gold began to ease and with the establishment of the Cresson surface mine the gold production from the state has been accelerating constantly (Gold!Gold!Gold!).

At present the only large-scale gold mining company in Colorado is the Cripple Creek and Victor mining company which uses modern technology to extract gold from the ores. A previous report has predicted that the ore reserve deposit would enable the mining process to continue through 2012 (Gold!Gold!Gold!). Though there have been no major reports of new gold findings in the region and the production has become limited to a few mines the mining industry is thriving as a result of diversification into mining of silver, lead, zinc, and molybdenum (The History of Gold Mining).

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Discovery of gold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Discovery of gold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1607592-discovery-of-gold
(Discovery of Gold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Discovery of Gold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1607592-discovery-of-gold.
“Discovery of Gold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1607592-discovery-of-gold.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Discovery of Gold in Colorado

The Use of Underground Resources: A Diagnostic Feature of the Anthropocene

As the paper "The Use of Underground Resources: A Diagnostic Feature of the Anthropocene" tells, the Anthropocene epic has become a reality in almost every segment of the universe.... It is still a new area of much controversy and continuous knowledge and information are emerging at a fast pace.... ...
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Paper

The Hot Springs of Glenwood

These volcanic activities led to the present-day Rock Mountain regions in which the colorado River carved its mark.... Glenwood Canyon was formed by the colorado River as it eroded into the southern flank of the White River Uplift.... This paper ''The Hot Springs of Glenwood'' tells us that the formation of the Hot Springs of Glenwood carries much geographical history....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Gold Rush Era

Due to the discovery of gold in California population grew from 200 to 36,000 in a few years and it became a highly populated state in the United States.... Foundation of gold in California let people diverse from agriculture and fishing to gold mining.... Marshall found gold in Columbia.... California not only traded gold in the United States but it also traded gold in the best part of the world after 1850.... This paper deals with the positive impact of gold Rush in California....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Find an article about plate tectonics(within the last 2 years 2012-2014) and summary the article

The presence of tectonic activities in different regions across the continent like north America provide a lot of contradicting information between the interior part of the continent and the margins, for instance colorado plateau, Atlantic, gulf coast margin without forgetting the Grand canyon.... Behind this discovery is Yin who was a well known UCLA professor specialized in Earth space science and the author who was responsible for the research....
2 Pages (500 words) Assignment

An Astronaut Meets God by James Irwin

They performed several moon space walks while picking up space stones and the remnant of the moon's crust that included the discovery of genesis rock, which is more than 4 billion years rock.... The discovery of rock is one of the greatest discoveries of the Apollo era.... James Irwin was a colorado resident born on March 17, 1930, in Pennsylvania in the United States of America....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Sulphur Hot Spring in Colorado

This essay, Sulphur Hot Spring in colorado, talks about Colorado which is a state that is naturally endowed with many breathtaking natural scenes that any human being in the world would like to visit and at least take a glimpse of the beautiful sceneries in the state.... This discussion stresses that Sulphur Hot Springs Town is situated in the Grand County in colorado in the United States of America with proximity to Byers Canyon and Kremmling.... The paper endeavors to trace the history of the colorado Hot Springs before the year 2000....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Use of Underground Resources: A Diagnostic Feature of the Anthropocene

The following research will try to support and push forward the understanding of the Anthropocene trend with particular focus to the colorado region.... The paper highlights the importance of measures aimed to control mining and come up with better mining policies.... ... .... ... ...
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Paper

Achievements of John Wesley Iliff

However, in 1859, he moved to Denver, Colorado after learning about the discovery of gold, and here he also established a new store and sold supplies to the miners.... The land in colorado was from Julesburg to Greeley, and this is what earned him the name the 'Cattle King'.... The researcher of this paper "Achievements of John Wesley Iliff" discusses the life of Iliff who is a prominent name in the history of colorado because of his contributions in trade and development, as well as achievements as a cattle rancher, which earned him the name the 'Cattle King'....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us