Editing Placer mining (section)

==Etymology==
The word placer derives from the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''placer'', meaning shoal or alluvial/sand deposit, from ''plassa'' (place) from [[Medieval Latin]] ''placea'' (place) the origin word for "place" and "plaza" in English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/placers |title=Placers etymology and definition |publisher=Thefreedictionary.com |access-date=July 20, 2013}}</ref> The word in Spanish is thus  derived from ''placea'' and refers directly to an [[alluvial]] or glacial deposit of sand or gravel.
[[File:A placer mine at Alma in 1880 - DPLA - d36682f6190c8624b01556dfa53bc802 (cropped).jpg|alt=A placer mine in Alma, CO in 1880|thumb|A placer mine in [[Alma, Colorado]] in 1880]]
An alternative etymology derives the English word from [[Spanish language in the Americas|American Spanish]] ''placer'' (placer, sandbank), from earlier ''placel'', apparently from obsolete [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''placel'' (placer, sandbank).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/placer |title=placer in Wiktionary |publisher=en.wiktionary.org |access-date=August 18, 2019}}</ref>