Extensive reconnaissance assessments of the mineral resource potential of the Colville and Okanogan National Forests in northeastern Washington were conducted during 1979-1982 by a private consultant A.R. Grant, under contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. These forests occupy large parts of Pend Oreille, Stevens, Ferry, and Okanogan counties, and smaller parts of Whatcom, Skagit, and Chelan counties adjoining Okanogan County in the Cascades. Sampled terrain also included the Kaniksu National Forest in Pend Oreille County and one stream bed of the Kaniksu in adjacent Bonner County, Idaho.
Two unpublished reports resulting from the assessments (Grant, 1982a,b) list a total of 3,927 analyses of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, molybdenum, tungsten, and uranium content of stream sediment and bedrock samples collected at widely dispersed sites in the three National Forests. This report makes this important body of work available in digital form on diskettes, to enhance manipulations with computer spreadsheets, geographic information systems (GIS), and digital spatial analyses. This will allow for utilization of data by modern day explorationists and by the general geodata user community.
