Placer Gold Episode 12: Glacial Erratics – Boulders that Trap Gold - From Lode to Riches

Описание: 🧊 Placer Gold: From Lode to Riches – Episode 12: Glacial Erratics – Boulders that Trap Gold

Not all gold is found in rivers, beaches, or desert washes. Some of the most overlooked placer traps were created during the Ice Age, when glaciers carved landscapes, carried boulders for miles, and dropped them in unexpected places. These scattered boulders — known as glacial erratics — are more than geologic curiosities. They are natural gold catchers, concentrating flakes, flour, and even nuggets at their bases. In this episode of Placer Gold: From Lode to Riches, we uncover how glaciers moved gold, why erratics matter, and how prospectors can use them as clues to hidden pay streaks.

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🔍 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

🪨 What Are Glacial Erratics?
• Erratics are large boulders carried by glaciers and deposited far from their bedrock source.
• They often sit alone in gravel plains, fields, or valleys, surrounded by smaller sediments.
• These rocks can be granite, basalt, or any type foreign to the local geology.

❄️ How Glaciers Move Gold
• Glaciers act like conveyor belts, grinding gold out of bedrock and transporting it in ice.
• When the ice melts, gold is released into gravels, moraines, and outwash plains.
• Erratics left behind act like giant obstructions, forcing meltwater to slow down.

🧭 Why Erratics Trap Gold
• Heavy gold sinks quickly when water loses energy.
• As meltwater flows around boulders, flakes and nuggets settle into cracks at the base.
• Over centuries, repeated melt cycles concentrate gold directly beneath erratics.

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🏆 Why Glacial Erratics Matter
• Natural Gold Traps: Just like riffles or bedrock cracks, erratics act as catch points for heavy minerals.
• Prospecting Clues: An isolated boulder in a gravel field often signals glacial movement — and potential gold beneath.
• Historic & Modern Use: Miners in Alaska, Canada, and Scandinavia have reported rich finds near erratics.
• Field Advantage: Unlike buried gravels, erratics are visible landmarks prospectors can use to guide exploration.

Glacial erratics prove that Ice Age processes still shape where gold is found today.

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📖 Human Stories and Legacy
• In Alaska, miners learned to test beneath giant boulders left by glaciers, often finding rich pockets.
• Canadian prospectors in Ontario and Quebec traced glacial gravels back to erratics as indicators of upstream sources.
• In northern Europe, local miners still pan near erratic fields, uncovering flour gold in meltwater gravels.

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📌 Key Takeaways
• Glacial erratics are boulders carried far from their original source by ice.
• They act as obstructions that trap gold during meltwater flows.
• Nuggets, flakes, and flour gold can all collect at their bases.
• Prospectors in northern regions should always check around erratics in gravel plains.
• Ice Age geology continues to guide modern placer gold exploration.

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🔗 Related Episodes in Placer Gold: From Lode to Riches
• Episode 10: Gold Under Ice – Prospecting Frozen Placers
• Episode 11: Beach Placers – Gold in the Surf and Sand
• Episode 13: Desert Hardpans – Caliche Layers that Hold Gold

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📢 Call to Action

If you’re ready to explore Ice Age gold traps:
✅ Subscribe to Aurum Meum Academy for the complete 30-part series.
👍 Like this video if you think glaciers left behind more gold than we realize.
💬 Comment: Have you ever prospected near glacial erratics or moraine fields? Share your story below!
🔔 Turn on notifications so you don’t miss Episode 13: Desert Hardpans – Caliche Layers that Hold Gold.

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