Silver Bow Basin
Encyclopedia
The Silver Bow Basin is a valley
located 2.4 miles northeast of Juneau, Alaska
, USA. It is situated on Gold Creek in an area north of Icy Gulch, and approximately 1.5 miles north of Gastineau Peak. A trail from Juneau leads directly to the mountainside. The basin was the site of the earliest gold discovery in the Juneau area, leading to the establishment of the town called Juneau.
after the mine in Silver Bow, Montana
. Another theory is that it was named by a party of Montana miners in honor of their last camp in Montana.
was found in the basin's Gold Creek in 1880 by Harris and Joe Juneau
. This gold discovery led to the creation of the town called Juneau. Over the next nine years, sluicing operations recovered thousands of ounces of gold. Sitka engineer George E. Pilz is closely connected to development in the basin, as well as having grubstaked the prospectors Harris and Juneau. By the end of the decade, large scale hydraulic mining was in operation. The mines were reached by a 3.5 miles wagon road that zig-zagged across the hill.
Both quartz and placer mines operated in the basin, but because of climatic conditions, it was impossible to carry on milling operations in the basin itself for more than five or six mouths during the year. The largest of the mines was the Perseverance
. The Fuller First Mine was the first quartz location in the basin. In 1890, Archie Campbell
installed a revolving Dodge mill on the Fuller First. Over fifty placer claims on the basin's level floor were owned by the Silver-Bow Basin Mining Company, of Boston, while the Eastern Alaska Mining and Milling Company's mill was at the extreme end of the basin. In 1897, the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining Company
incorporated and it purchased over two dozen claims in the basin between the Perseverance and Ebner mines in order to lode mine their low grade gold ore. The Lervey Basin placer claim was opened in 1899 a mile above Silver Bow Basin. In 1915, it was reported that a 2 miles tunnel was being driven through the ridge between Sheep Creek and Silver Bow Basin, to connect with a crosscut from the shaft on the thirteenth level. The purpose of the tunnel was to transport mined ore to the mills on the Gastineau Channel
. Total production estimates exceed 50000 ounces (1,417,476.2 g) of gold.
s, excavated the depression that forms the basin. Subsequently, it was occupied by a lake that was separated from the lower portions of the creek by a solid rock divide. Lurvey Creek forks into North Lurvey Creek and East Lurvey Creek above the basin. The basin's lake beds are auriferous. Although the creek was filled with ice, there are patches near the basin which were not subjected to glaciation
. The postglacial lake basin is filled with gravels from several creeks including Gold, Icy, Lurvey, Nugget, as well as Quartz Gulches. The basin ores are principally gold with small amounts of silver, zinc, or lead. Granite rocks are located in the northwestern part of the basin.
Silver Bow Basin is approximately 3000 feet (914.4 m) long and 1000 feet (304.8 m) wide, at an altitude of 1250 feet (381 m).
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
located 2.4 miles northeast of Juneau, Alaska
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
, USA. It is situated on Gold Creek in an area north of Icy Gulch, and approximately 1.5 miles north of Gastineau Peak. A trail from Juneau leads directly to the mountainside. The basin was the site of the earliest gold discovery in the Juneau area, leading to the establishment of the town called Juneau.
Etymology
There are opposing theories as to who named the basin. One version states that its was named by Richard HarrisRichard Harris (prospector)
Richard Tighe Harris was a Canadian miner and prospector.Richard Harris was born in Dummadonald, County Down, Ireland. However, attended Girard College, a private boarding school in Philadelphia, PA ....
after the mine in Silver Bow, Montana
Silver Bow County, Montana
-National protected areas:*Beaverhead National Forest *Deerlodge National Forest -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 34,606 people, 14,432 households, and 8,933 families residing in the county. The population density was 48 people per square mile . There were 16,176 housing units at...
. Another theory is that it was named by a party of Montana miners in honor of their last camp in Montana.
History
PlacerPlacer deposit
In geology, a placer deposit or placer is an accumulation of valuable minerals formed by gravity separation during sedimentary processes. The name is from the Spanish word placer, meaning "alluvial sand". Placer mining is an important source of gold, and was the main technique used in the early...
was found in the basin's Gold Creek in 1880 by Harris and Joe Juneau
Joe Juneau (prospector)
Joseph Juneau was a miner and prospector from Canada who was born in the Quebec town of Saint-Paul-l'Ermite to François Xavier Juneau dit Latulippe and Marguerite Thiffault Juneau. He is best known for co-founding, with Richard Harris, the city of Juneau, Alaska, United States...
. This gold discovery led to the creation of the town called Juneau. Over the next nine years, sluicing operations recovered thousands of ounces of gold. Sitka engineer George E. Pilz is closely connected to development in the basin, as well as having grubstaked the prospectors Harris and Juneau. By the end of the decade, large scale hydraulic mining was in operation. The mines were reached by a 3.5 miles wagon road that zig-zagged across the hill.
Both quartz and placer mines operated in the basin, but because of climatic conditions, it was impossible to carry on milling operations in the basin itself for more than five or six mouths during the year. The largest of the mines was the Perseverance
Alaska-Gastineau Mine
The Alaska-Gastineau Mine was a gold mine in Perseverance, about east of Juneau, Alaska, USA. It was briefly the largest gold mine in the world. The mine was operated by the Alaska-Gastineau Mining Company.-Geography:...
. The Fuller First Mine was the first quartz location in the basin. In 1890, Archie Campbell
Archie Campbell
Archie Campbell was an American writer and star of Hee Haw, a popular long-running country-flavored network television variety show...
installed a revolving Dodge mill on the Fuller First. Over fifty placer claims on the basin's level floor were owned by the Silver-Bow Basin Mining Company, of Boston, while the Eastern Alaska Mining and Milling Company's mill was at the extreme end of the basin. In 1897, the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining Company
Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining Company
The Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining Company was incorporated under the laws of West Virginia, USA in 1897. Its lode mining claims covered approximately on the wide vein called the Juneau Gold Belt of which it owned one mile on the outcrop....
incorporated and it purchased over two dozen claims in the basin between the Perseverance and Ebner mines in order to lode mine their low grade gold ore. The Lervey Basin placer claim was opened in 1899 a mile above Silver Bow Basin. In 1915, it was reported that a 2 miles tunnel was being driven through the ridge between Sheep Creek and Silver Bow Basin, to connect with a crosscut from the shaft on the thirteenth level. The purpose of the tunnel was to transport mined ore to the mills on the Gastineau Channel
Gastineau Channel
Gastineau Channel is a channel between the mainland of the U.S. state of Alaska and Douglas Island in the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska. It separates Juneau on the mainland side from Douglas , on Douglas Island. The first European to sight the channel was Joseph Whidbey early in...
. Total production estimates exceed 50000 ounces (1,417,476.2 g) of gold.
Geography
A glacier, which formerly extended to the mouth of Gold Creek and built up the moraineMoraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
s, excavated the depression that forms the basin. Subsequently, it was occupied by a lake that was separated from the lower portions of the creek by a solid rock divide. Lurvey Creek forks into North Lurvey Creek and East Lurvey Creek above the basin. The basin's lake beds are auriferous. Although the creek was filled with ice, there are patches near the basin which were not subjected to glaciation
Glacial period
A glacial period is an interval of time within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate within an ice age...
. The postglacial lake basin is filled with gravels from several creeks including Gold, Icy, Lurvey, Nugget, as well as Quartz Gulches. The basin ores are principally gold with small amounts of silver, zinc, or lead. Granite rocks are located in the northwestern part of the basin.
Silver Bow Basin is approximately 3000 feet (914.4 m) long and 1000 feet (304.8 m) wide, at an altitude of 1250 feet (381 m).