A number of homes in Nevada County, western foothills of California's Sierra Nevada--the heart of historic hydraulic gold mining territory during the mid to late 1800s--have fireplaces constructed of petrified wood collected from local exposures of middle Eocene auriferous gravels left behind at the neighboring hydraulic pits. Top and bottom--Two views of a fireplace at a private residence in Dutch Flat, Nevada County, California--a structure "hewn" from petrified wood gathered from the nearby middle Eocene auriferous gravels. Photographs courtesy anonymous individuals at specific web sites.

Please Note: All fossil sites in the auriferous gravels are off-limits without permission from the landowners.