By Lisa M. Krieger
From Bay Area News Group
Buck Meadows—For 170 years, the gold deposits along Sierra stream beds have been so poked and prodded that easy supplies of the precious metal have grown scarce and are a challenge to find.
This spring’s raging rivers are regifting them.
“There it is!” said Kevin Bell of Sacramento, swirling a pan in the cold waters of Moore Creek, as glitter suddenly illuminated the inky black sand. A half bucket of material yielded 12 showy specks—nearly a tenth of a gram of gold, worth about $7—about double the typical haul in previous years….