Amid the severe drought, which has choked water out of most of California's rivers and creeks, gold mining has remerged as a profitable practice in the Golden State.

According to The Los Angeles Times, the state is now in its third year of the drought, reaching historical lows of dryness not seen since the 1500s.

The water the state receives for agriculture and city use from its snowpack has been reduced to 18 percent of its average. Almost $2 billion in losses have accrued because of the drought.

The drought has made an impact on thousands of farming jobs while also killing off salmon eggs that sit out in the sun and open air. Sheep ranchers are forced to reduce their herds because there isn't enough hay to feed them.

Gold prospectors, however, are using the near-dried up rivers and creeks as an opportunity to mine for the precious metal similar to the state's earliest settlers during the Gold Rush of 1849.

Despite a decrease in the price of gold, an ounce of the metal is still worth more than $1,250. Several mining supply stores in Auburn, Bakersfield and Sacramento have experienced an increase in sales, The Times reported.

The recent practice is simply viewed as more of a hobby rather than another gold rush, said Farris Farnsworth, a 66-year-old, retired fix-it-man.

"It's not the normal, that's for sure," Farnsworth said. "If somebody was to walk up and see us down here, they'd probably think we were a little nuts."

After a day spent hunched over the dry river looking for their take, several of the prospectors could be seen holding their backs in pain, according to The Times.

"It's not for everybody," Farnsworth admitted. "If it was easy everybody would be doing it. People think prospectors are greedy. It's hard work."