It has never been farmed or logged, and most of its archaeological sites are intact. Of particular interest in this area are the natural occurrences of sapphires. On the Scioto River south of Columbus, Ohio, archaeologists identified 300 pounds of Yellowstone obsidian in mounds built by the Hopewell people 2,000 years ago. But if Hopewell people were making epic journeys west to get obsidian, they would have seen bighorns in the Northern Rockies, and the animals were particularly abundant in Yellowstone. Placer gold can be found in the Missouri River south of the town of Cascade. Hydraulic giants washed bench deposits on Gold Creek, Pioneer Creek, French Gulch, and Wilson Bar. Lt. Henry Maynadier took one group and proceeded southeast to the Rosebud, Tongue and Powder rivers. Richard Grant is an author and journalist based in Tucson, Arizona. [Canyon Creek townsite] during the massive rush for acquisition of land in the local area. A beautiful stage along the babbling stream and right through the . A 27-ounce Gold Nugget is found near Butte, And: This Montana Town has Gold Buried Right Under Main Street. Were standing on a rise near the Yellowstone River, or the Elk River as most Native American tribes called it. His book The Bridger Trail: a viable route to the gold fields of Montana Territory in 1864 was published by the Arthur H. Clark Co in 1999. So far Ive got nowhere, Doyle says. They cant determine what clothing looked like, for example, and theyve found the remains of only a few human beings. The majority of the gold mining took place in the gorges and valleys of Montanas southwest, but there were some occurrences of gold and silver being struck in the northwest. Gold and silver had been discovered the year before at Alder Gulch near Virginia City in whats now southwestern Montana, and a new gold rush was on. As a result, mountain man Jim Bridger blazed a trail that was safer than the better-known Bozeman Trail, which ran through Sioux country east of the Bighorn Mountains in the Powder River Basin. If they hadnt been so resourceful and successful, none of us would be here today., He would like to see more signs and exhibits about the parks original inhabitants, first and foremost at Obsidian Cliff, but the park service is more concerned about protecting the site from possible looting.