Valdez Creek facts for kids

Valdez Creek is a small stream in Alaska, a U.S. state. It's one of the streams that flows into the big Susitna River.

Where is Valdez Creek?

This stream starts high up in the foothills of the Alaska Range mountains. It flows mostly southwest for about 12 miles (19 kilometers). Valdez Creek is quite far from big cities. It's about 160 miles (257 km) northwest of Valdez and about 120 miles (193 km) south of Fairbanks. Over time, Valdez Creek has carved its path through layers of deep gravel and into the hard rock called schist that lies underneath.

A Golden History

People found gold in Valdez Creek in 1903. This type of gold is called "placer gold," which means it's found in loose sand or gravel in riverbeds. At first, mining only happened in two main spots along the stream: a place called Lucky Gulch and near a spot known as Discovery claim, which was at the mouth of Willow Creek.

In 1908, a special type of mining equipment called a hydraulic plant was set up on Valdez Creek. This plant used strong jets of water to wash away gravel and find gold. That summer, about 120 people were working to mine gold in Valdez Creek!