Finding Gold in the Desert: The Art of Drywashing (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.

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

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.

Very dry hard to stay focused