Panning for gold
near
Smallwater Lakes Villa & Chalet.
GOLD doesn’t always come like a Californian
gold rush. For centuries grains, and more rarely nuggets, could be picked
out of French river beds at their lowest ebb. The gold is thinly distributed
throughout the country — the
Pyrenees, the south-eastern
edge of the Massif Central (the Cevennes) and the Massif Armoricain. From
the time of the Gauls right up to the 18th century, people panned for gold
there.
The practice died out and was all but forgotten until the 1970s, when a
downsizing journalist tried to make a living from
gold panning. His
subsequent book inspired a thousand hippies to wet their bums in French
rivers, and gold panning remains a Sunday afternoon staple.
For a couple of hours it’s worth the
diversion and on a hot day the river water is very welcome.
It’s also a great place to cool a bottle of wine.
For more info contact:
Federation Francaise d'
Orpillage
Salle 605
Complexe de la Republique
64000 PAU
France
A good read :
Gold digger in France
http://orpailleur.free.fr/index.php
Handbook of the Gold digger, Gold washer, on line, Gold bearing zones of
France and much more.
Has english translation.
Our other sites:-
Panning for gold