The following outline of events in the rise and fall of gold mining in southwestern
Oregon is here recorded - almost as an obituary - so that Oregonians may not entirely forget how important this industry was in building up this part of the state.
The Columbia River Basalt consists of dozens of seemingly identical flows of basalt covering thousands of square miles of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. For years, detailed mapping of the units relied almost entirely on subtle petrographic distinctions, the presence or absence of interbeds, and actual walking along contacts in the...