The water source in Nome, Alaska dumped right out in to the beach, and the outlet changed many times over the years; as such, men discovered that the entire beach had traces of gold. At the height of the speculation, the entire beach was filled with men with shovels and pans.
Another 1889 photo of the "Old Timers" in Dakota shows how they redirected a local stream and set up various 'sifters'. They used these to sift out what was called "gold dust", which were small flecks of gold that wouldn't get caught in standard panning processes.
See Next Page
What it Was Like to Pan for Gold (10 Photos)