Featured Site: Greaterville District,
Pima County, Arizona
Location: On the East flank of the Santa Rita Mountains, T. 19S.,Rs. 15 and 16E
Topographic Map: All 15 minute Quadrangles-Sahuarita, Empire Mountains, Mount Wrightson, and Elgin
Click Here For Topographic Map Of Greaterville Area
Access: The Greaterville area is accessible by roads that lead 5 miles west from State Hwy 83, about 8 miles north of Sonoita on the junction with State Hwy 82 or by I-10 south from Tucson to State Hwy 83, travel south to Gardner Canyon Road Follow it in for a few miles and there will be roads in to the various gulches. Some areas are marked with Forest Service signs and they also have camp areas set up if you so desire or you can find your own spot, remember to leave it cleaner than you find it!!
Extent: The placers in the Greaterville area are found in washes that drain easterly from the Melendrez Pass area in the Santa Rita Mountains to the Cienega Valley. The deposits are in the southeastern part of T. 19S. R 15E and the southwestern part of T. 19S., R 16E.The gold bearing gulches are, from north to south: Empire, Chispa, Colorado, Los Pozos, Hughes, Ophir, Nigger, and St. Louis Gulches, tributaries to Hughes; Louisiana, Graham, Sucker, Harshaw, Kentucky, and Boston. Placers were found not only in the gulch gravels but also on the hill sides and ridge tops between gulches! In the early days .25 oz nuggets were common with many large nuggets up to 37 ounces found.
Metal Detecting: The ground is quite noisy here and there is a lot of trash, but If you know your detector and are willing to dig through the trash some very nice nuggets can and are being found here. There is also some hot ground here, but for the most part any good VLF or PI gold detector will work well. This area is at 5300 feet so plan accordingly.
Tips: Move slowly and dig ALL TARGETS. Always make sure you have a topo map of the area you wish to hunt. Remember to stay off marked claims and please remember to FILL ALL HOLES!! Good hunting.
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