Hydraulic Gold Mining.

Connected to the pipes conveying water from the high ditch, "Little Giants" or water cannons had the power to slice through soils and even saprolite (decomposed rock) to free gold-bearing material. Hydraulic "cuts" into the hillsides were made all along the Georgia Gold Belt. Once freed by the water cannons, the muddy debri was crushed if necessary and washed through sluice boxes to trap the gold it contained. The hydraulic mining process left areas so barren that early film-makers used them as settings for western movies.

This ends the Hydraulic Mine Tour.