Finding Gold in the Desert (Prospecting and Treasure Hunting)

The book is a basic introduction to finding gold in desert locations. It is primarily focused on areas in the western United States, however the information can be applied and used in any appropriate area in the world. The book is well worth the cost for one very important reason, and that is the book comes with the complete plans to build a dry washer. These plans are for a dry washer that the author used and anyone with a few basic tools can build their own dry washer.Do I recommend this book? Yes as the information in it is useful and the dry washer plans are a bonus.

This book contains only twenty-five pages. The text (wording) is fairly large and easy to read. Many of the twenty-five pages contain photographs which were taken decades ago and are fuzzy and faded. But you can still manage to see what the author wants you to see in the photos. The author briefly describes things such as bedrock, canyons, gullies, and how gold tends to be washed down into gullies and riverbeds when it rains. He also explains that gold is heavier than rock (and sand) and will tend to sink to the bottom of sandbeds, cracks in rocks, etc. Most of us already know these things. I wish he would have spent a little more time explaining "where" to look. He does touch on this topic. But, not was much as you might think. Instead, most of the book deals with "drywashing" and "panning". He gives many pointers and tips on how to pan and drywash (which I appreciate). But given the title "Where to FIND Gold in the Desert", I was hoping that the author would have provided more information on how to get to the gold. For example: What part of a dry streambed is the best? Before it curves? After it curves? Is it best to always dig down to the bedrock whenever possible? Etc, etc.

I bought this book because of the review by the author's (son? daughter?), and I'm glad I did. I'm an amateur rockhound, and this book is very informative for anyone hoping to prospect for gold. I won't be building the drywasher the author designed (blueprints are included as an insert in the book), but Otto relates plenty of good advice. His no-nonsense style also makes it clear that dry-panning is not a good way to get rich. It's only for rockhounds who love the hunt for treasure as much as those little specks of gold that can be painstakingly picked out of the dirt (and that would be me). That's why Otto earns one of my five-star reviews.

a nice little book

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is very easy reading and can be done in an evening if you wanted to. There are lots of very valuable bits of information in the book even though it is a bit dated. If you are looking for some light reading and great information, i would recommend this book - especially for the price.

Great book! Super tips!

I like this book or booklet, as it only has 25 pages, not to many photo's in it either.But it was still worth the low price that i paid for it, there's no glossary or index.But it is still fun to look thru & it's still a good bit informative to an extent.

Very informative booklet written by an actual prospector who was very successful at finding gold. The drywasher plans that are included will help you build an inexpensive and very functional unit for prospecting the dry desert regions.

It is a thin book that explains how to build and operate a small drywasher for concentrating minerals where water is scarce. It is not a big, heavy or overly technical text.

nothing i did`nt know

Very dry hard to stay focused