Lights Canyon Mining District

This district is in northeastern Plumas County in the general area of Light's Canyon. It was named for Ephriam Light, a pioneer rancher. It includes the Moonlight Valley, Indian Valley, Engelmine, and Kettle Rock areas. It is also an important copper-mining district; the Engels and Superior mines are located here. Placer mining was originally done in the district during the 1850s and continued through the early 1900s. The Lucky S lode mine has been prospected in recent years. For some years the district was served by the Indian Valley Railroad.

The central portion of the district is underlain by granodiorite and quartz diorite. To the south are various metamorphic rocks of Paleozoic and Mesozoic age similar to those found in the Taylorsville district (see Taylorsville district). North and east are Tertiary gravels and volcanic rocks.

Both the Recent and Tertiary gravels have yielded moderate amounts of gold. The gold-quartz veins are narrow, but the ore often is rich. The ore contains abundant sulfides including pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite.