Hydraulic Mining

The gravel bars along this stretch of the Salmon were found first and passed over. The party that discovered Florence prospected them in July 1861, then left for the richer basin above. The bars got their turn in March 1862, when deep snow and a hard winter drove miners down off Florence to work the better claims along the river. Water was the hard part of placer mining here as everywhere: the giants needed ditches and flumes run from high above the workings, which is why the big pits sit where water could be brought to them.

What the plaque says

Hydraulic Mining Visible directly across the river is a pit left by large scale hydraulic mining for gold deposited in ancient gravel beds. Big nozzles, called "hydraulic giants," shot powerful streams of water against a pre-historic river bed (now the bank of the stream) to expose and wash down gold-bearing gravel, which then was sluiced to recover the gold. This method, brought to Idaho in the 1860's, remained in use until recent economic changes made gold mining unprofitable. Many pits-some enormously larger than this one-are left as reminders of the mining days gone by. 175 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Heaven's Gate Lookout — 15 mi
  A staffed fire lookout at 8,429 feet on the rim of North America's deepest river gorge, nearly reachable by car.
• White Bird Battlefield — 16 mi
  Six Nimiipuu men rode out under a white flag. A shot came from the soldiers' side, and the Nez Perce War began.

More markers nearby

• Fabulous Florence — steps away
• Salmon River Canyon — 4.7 mi
• Nez Perce War — 18 mi
• White Bird Grade — 18 mi