Gold Discovery Park Association

At 7:51 am on Sunday April 22nd, a major fireball was seen all over northern California and beyond. There were sonic booms and windows were shaken. Scientists used weather radar to track the movements of the object and predicted that it fell near Coloma, CA. A few days later several small fragments were found near Sutter's Mill. Scientifically the meteorite is called a CM chondrite, a rare class that contains water and carbon compounds that are similiar to those responsible for producing life on Earth.

On the following Tuesday, teams from NASA and SETI started to arrive on the scene. One of the scientists was Peter Jenniskens, the world's foremost authority on meteoriotes. Shortly after arriving at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park he found some of the first pieces of the meteorite.

It's been meteor mania ever since!! NASA had organized search parties to look for pieces and there were plenty of professional and amateur meteorite hunters wandering the area.

Our own Ranger, Suzie Matin was one of the lucky ones to find not only one, but two pieces of the meteorite right in her front yard!!!!

These pieces are worth more than gold. The going price is $1,000 per gram.The scientific value degrades over time.

Some interesting facts about this meteorite...The appoximate weight was 158,000 lbs. with a specific gravity of 2.2 (the dirt we stand on is 2.8). Had this been an average meteor, composed of iron, it would have weighed 500,000 lbs`!!!!! We're lucky it wasn't iron or Coloma would be gone!

These are the two meteorites found by Ranger Suzie Matin alongside her house in Coloma.

Suzie claims the way to find pieces of the meteorite is to NOT look for them!! It worked for her and later in the day her Mom also  found a piece at her house across the river.

              Click here for a neat link to Astro Bob's Blog                          

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 Marshall Gold Discovery Park now has it's own app. It is currently available on

all smartphones.This is a wonderful new addition to our Park, thanks to the

Gold Discovery Park Association. This app provides a video and picture tour to the many 

sites and sounds of Coloma. History comes alive in first person re-enactments.

Be sure to keep you app updated, as we will continue to add exciting new

content as Spring unfolds.

                  



Over the years, the stamp mill at Coloma has run off and on. The mill sits out in the open, at the mercy of the elements. Recently, Ed and Norm Allen (full-time docents) decided to undertake the project of getting the mill running again. First they needed to find out why the mill had stopped running and after some research and troubleshooting, it was discovered that the motor was completely burned up. (There were a few other surprises in the motor...one dead mouse and an enormous mud dauber nest!)

After numerous inquiries, Ed and Norm discovered there was no exact replacement motor available so here's where the brothers had to get creative! Instead of the original 11/2 horsepower motor, they bought a new 2 horsepower motor and went to work on some necessary modifications. Ed designed and crafted a new motor mount then turned the project over to Norm, who did the proper wiring and installation needed. After a little over a month....the STAMP MILL RUNS AGAIN!

Ed has been showing it off to park visitors so if you are interested in seeing a stamp mill run - or are a docent who would like to learn how to operate the stamp mill for visitors to our park, contact Ed Allen at the museum on Tuesdays  and Thursdays. (530) 622-3470