California's extreme drought seems to have brought in some advantages and happiness along the way. For gold seekers anyway, the Associated Press reported.
Thousands of global fortune seekers had famously been attracted to the Sierra Nevada foothills in the mid-1800's in search for a rush of gold.
California's historic drought, causing low water levels, seems to have caused a mini gold rush as amateur prospectors have started to try their luck due to access of riverbed riches.
"With the drought going on, we're able to dig in more locations that wouldn't be accessible at later times," said Tim Amavisca, from Sacramento, who searched Bear River near Colfax with his teenage daughter on a recent Friday afternoon.
Surveying the riverbed for good spots for prospecting, 39-year-old Rudy Price walked along the dry rocks of the Bear River with a shovel and pan.
"I do understand that it's a dramatic impact on everybody during a drought that's this severe, but at the same token I'm taking advantage of it," said Price, an amateur prospector who lives in the Colfax area.
Water supplies to farms and cities have been severely lowered by the state and federal governments since one of the worst droughts in California history happened, the AP reported.
The fish and wildlife are also being endangered as rivers and streams have been at a dangerously low level.
"You're seeing flows that are either at or near record lows," said Jeff Kitchen, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's California Water Science Center. "If this drought were to continue into future years, there could be some severe consequences."
However in the Gold Rush-era town of Auburn, the warm and dry winter is bringing in many first-time prospectors to Pioneer Mining Supplies, according to the AP.
The store sells shovels, buckets, pans, rubber boots, maps and mining books, as well as more advanced prospecting equipment such as sluice boxes and gold concentrators.
Many local residents are looking to increase their incomes with gold selling for more than $1,300 an ounce, Heather Willis, store manager, said.
