Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
A massive 100-year flood ripped through the Arizona goldfields, stripping away entire banks and exposing virgin ground that hadn’t been seen in decades. And underneath all that material was exactly what we were looking for — fresh caliche false bedrock loaded with places for GOLD nuggets to get trapped.
In this video, Lila and I head straight into the freshly washed-out goldfields with a Minelab GPX 6000 and Garrett Axiom to see which detector can find the most gold.
At first, the main wash looks perfect — until we start digging target after target and discover it’s loaded with old metal trash. So we change strategy and move higher into the hills where the flood exposed fresh caliche beds, pockets and red Muddy Creek Formation material.
That’s when the GOLD starts showing up.
We find rough crystalline nuggets, specimen gold with quartz, multiple pieces sitting directly on the caliche — and finally a target that turns into a JACKPOT.
But there’s an even bigger lesson here for anyone who metal detects for gold:
Don’t just hunt the wash. Look for the layer that STOPS the gold.
Caliche can act like false bedrock. Once heavy placer gold reaches it, the nuggets can collect in cracks, pockets, depressions and around rocks instead of continuing deeper.
We also show one of our favorite ways to cover gold ground faster: use a Pulse Induction detector to locate targets and a high-frequency VLF to pinpoint and recover them. One person hunts while the other recovers — and once we switched to that system, we started moving through targets much faster.
If you want to learn how to find gold after a flood, how to recognize placer gold traps, how to hunt caliche beds, and why PI + VLF detectors can make such a powerful combination, this is one you’ll want to watch all the way through.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - The 100-Year Flood Event
1:12 - Why Floods Are Good for Gold Hunting
2:03 - Reading the “Red Muddy” Virgin Ground
3:45 - The Problem With Hunting the Main Wash
5:10 - Moving to the Caliche Gold Traps
6:55 - FIRST GOLD!
9:20 - The PI + VLF Teamwork Strategy
11:15 - “JACKPOT BABY!” The Big Find
13:30 - Giveaways & What’s Next
💬 QUESTION: If you found freshly exposed caliche after a major flood, would you hunt it with a PI, a VLF — or BOTH?
👍 Hit LIKE if you want more real-world gold prospecting and geology.
🔔 Subscribe for gold mining, metal detecting, geology and prospecting with Ask Jeff Williams.
Keep the Dream Alive!
#GoldProspecting #GoldNuggets #MetalDetecting #ArizonaGold #PlacerGold
A massive 100-year flood ripped through the Arizona goldfields, stripping away entire banks and exposing virgin ground that hadn’t been seen in decades. And underneath all that material was exactly what we were looking for — fresh caliche false bedrock loaded with places for GOLD nuggets to get trapped.
In this video, Lila and I head straight into the freshly washed-out goldfields with a Minelab GPX 6000 and Garrett Axiom to see which detector can find the most gold.
At first, the main wash looks perfect — until we start digging target after target and discover it’s loaded with old metal trash. So we change strategy and move higher into the hills where the flood exposed fresh caliche beds, pockets and red Muddy Creek Formation material.
That’s when the GOLD starts showing up.
We find rough crystalline nuggets, specimen gold with quartz, multiple pieces sitting directly on the caliche — and finally a target that turns into a JACKPOT.
But there’s an even bigger lesson here for anyone who metal detects for gold:
Don’t just hunt the wash. Look for the layer that STOPS the gold.
Caliche can act like false bedrock. Once heavy placer gold reaches it, the nuggets can collect in cracks, pockets, depressions and around rocks instead of continuing deeper.
We also show one of our favorite ways to cover gold ground faster: use a Pulse Induction detector to locate targets and a high-frequency VLF to pinpoint and recover them. One person hunts while the other recovers — and once we switched to that system, we started moving through targets much faster.
If you want to learn how to find gold after a flood, how to recognize placer gold traps, how to hunt caliche beds, and why PI + VLF detectors can make such a powerful combination, this is one you’ll want to watch all the way through.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - The 100-Year Flood Event
1:12 - Why Floods Are Good for Gold Hunting
2:03 - Reading the “Red Muddy” Virgin Ground
3:45 - The Problem With Hunting the Main Wash
5:10 - Moving to the Caliche Gold Traps
6:55 - FIRST GOLD!
9:20 - The PI + VLF Teamwork Strategy
11:15 - “JACKPOT BABY!” The Big Find
13:30 - Giveaways & What’s Next
💬 QUESTION: If you found freshly exposed caliche after a major flood, would you hunt it with a PI, a VLF — or BOTH?
👍 Hit LIKE if you want more real-world gold prospecting and geology.
🔔 Subscribe for gold mining, metal detecting, geology and prospecting with Ask Jeff Williams.
Keep the Dream Alive!
#GoldProspecting #GoldNuggets #MetalDetecting #ArizonaGold #PlacerGold
