CALIFORNIA

The Panamint Mountains are an uplifted block of ancient Precambrian to Cambrian metamorphic and sedimentary rocks intruded by small Mesozoic granitic plutons. Examples include the granites of Manly Peak, those near Panamint, and the granitic rocks near Harrisburg and Skidoo. Younger Tertiary volcanics occur on the southernmost spur of the range, south of Manly Peak. As stated above, the majority of the rocks in the Panamint Range consist of ancient Precambrian to Cambrian metamorphic

and sedimentary rocks. For the most part, the western flank of the range is comprised of Precambrian metamorphic and sedimentary basement rock, while the eastern flank is made up of slightly younger Precambrian to Cambrian marine sedimentary rocks. The western front of the range is bounded by a major fault zone, the Death Valley Fault Zone. The fault and mountain range both trend slightly west of north.

Compared to most of the mountain ranges in California's Mojave Desert region, the Panamint Mountains are richly endowed with forest cover and timbered canyons. A large belt of timber extends from Bald Peak and Wildrose Canyon southward to the mountain peaks above Ballarat. This belt of timber and forest runs north-south for a distance of

about 20 miles. Prospectors may want to concentrate on the canyons and ravines that slice the eastern flanks of the range and that lie within the timber belt mentioned above. A search for gold-bearing float in each of the canyon floors may prove fruitful. A metal-detector would certainly be useful in the search.