Mary Creek is a creek in the Cariboo

Cariboo

The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia along a plateau stretching from the Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the woodland caribou that were once abundant in the region...

 region of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. The creek is located in Cottonwood Country which is between Quesnel

Quesnel

-Places:* Quesnel, British Columbia* Quesnel Forks, British Columbia* Quesnell, Alberta-People:* Chantal Quesnel, Canadian actress* François Quesnel, 16th century French artist.* Frédéric-Auguste Quesnel, Canadian lawyer and politician...

 and Barkerville. Mary Creek is small tributary of John Boyd Creek which flows into the Cottonwood River

Cottonwood River (Fraser River)

Cottonwood River is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Rising at the confluence of the Swift River and Lightning Creek at Coldspring House in the Cariboo goldfields of the northern Cariboo Plateau, it flows northwest and then turns southwest to...

. Terry Toop discovered gold on Mary Creek in the fall of 1972. The nuggets found were $150 in value, and $2,200 in gold could be found in a single yard of gravel. Bullion in 15 and 20 pound lots was shipped to a refinery in Richmond. Photographs of the nuggets where published in newspapers along the coast. Other miners moved in and staked claims around the area, but the gold was depleted in 1975.