Pan Mining- In the early days of the Gold Rush miners could use a pan to swish water and other materials from a creek bed. Since it was the heaviest substance in the creek, gold would collect at the bottom of the pan. Although this image of a miner and his pan is often used to depict the Gold Rush, panning became obsolete in a few years as different devices were invented to get more gold in less time. Photo courtesy of the Del Norte Historical Society.

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