Del Norte and Klamath.—Del Norte county in the north-western corner of the state, is about forty miles long from east to west by thirty from north to south. The mining population in it is small. Most of the mining is done along the banks of the Klamath River, which runs about twenty miles through the south-eastern portion of the county. There are some miners on the head-waters of Althouse Creek, which runs northward into Oregon. The county assessor, in his report for 1860, does not mention the existence of any quartz-mill or mining-ditch in the county. The mining districts are very mountainous and difficult of access. They obtain most of their supplies from Crescent City. The mining is chiefly in shallow placers, in deep and narrow ravines, and on bars of the Klamath River.
Klamath county lies immediately south of Del Norte, and is about the same size. It is almost exclusively a mining county, and has a population of about eighteen hundred. The diggings are placers in the bars and banks of the Klamath River and its tributaries, the Trinity and Salmon Rivers, and many small creeks. The principal mining places are Orleans Bar, Gullion's Bar, Negro Flat, Cecilville, Weitspeck and Red Cap. The whole county is very rugged and mountainous, and much of it is covered with heavy timber. The diggings are so difficult of access, and are so protected by mountains against ditches, that they will last for many years. There is probably no part of the state where the single miner, without capital, has a better chance to dig gold with a profit. Nearly the whole beach of the county is auriferous.
Siskiyou.—Siskiyou county lies east of Del Norte and Klamath, is forty miles wide from north to south, one hundred miles long from east to west, and reaches to the eastern boundary of the state. It has a population of 7,629, the large majority of whom are engaged in mining. The mining district is all in the western end of the county, along the banks of the Klamath River and its tributaries, the Scott and Shasta Rivers. The Klamath runs through a deep canon; the Scott and Shasta Rivers, have pleasant open valleys, but the diggings along their banks are chiefly among the canons near the Klamath. Hydraulic and tunnel claims are rare. There are six quartz-mills in the county, and fifteen mining ditches, of which last the principal is the Yreka canal, forty miles long, bringing water from the head of Shasta River to the town of Yreka. In 1859, there were four quartz-mills in the county, one of which was at Mugginsville, one in Scott's valley and two in Quartz valley. I have no information about the situation of the two built since that time. The principal mining towns are Yreka, Scott's Bar, Hawkinsville, Johnson's Bar, Deadwood and Cottonwood.
Trinity and Shasta.—South of the western part of Siskiyou and the eastern part of Klamath, lies Trinity county, ninety miles long from north to south, and about twenty miles wide on an average. The northern part of the county is the basin of the Trinity River, and is auriferous. From the county assessor's report for 1860, it is to be inferred that there is not a quartz-mill or a mining-ditch in the state. The county is very mountainous, and most of the mining is done in rugged canons along the Trinity River. The chief mining towns are Weaverville, Cox's Bar, Big Bar, Arkansas Flat, Mooney's Flat and Trinity Centre.
South of Siskiyou and east of Trinity lies Shasta county, which is on an average forty miles wide from north to south and one hundred miles long, reaching to the eastern border of the state. There is a rich auriferous district about twenty miles square, in the vicinity of the town of Shasta, in the south-western part of the county. The diggings are mostly in the basins of Clear Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Rock Creek and Salt Creek, all of which enter into the Sacramento. There are four quartz-mills in the county, one at French Gulch, one at Middle Creek, one at Muletown, and one at Old Diggings. The county has twenty-seven mining ditches, with a joint length of one hundred and forty-one miles, an average of five miles each. The chief mining towns are Shasta, Horsetown, French Gulch, Muletown, Briggsville, Whiskey and Middletown.
Plumas and Sierra.—South of the eastern part of Shasta county lies Plumas, which is about seventy miles square. About one third of the county, in the south-western part of it, comprising that portion drained by the head waters of Feather River, is auriferous. It lies high above the level of the sea, and the work of mining is interrupted during a considerable portion of the winter, by cold, snow and ice. Hydraulic and tunnel claims in deep hills, furnish a large portion of the gold yield of the county. There are five quartz-mills, one at Elizabethtown, one at Eureka Lake, and three at Jamison Creek. The principal mining towns are Quincy, Jamison City, Indian Bar, Nelson's Point and Poorman's Creek.