[1][2] The history of uranium prospecting, especially in the Colorado Plateau of North America, has seen several methods of identifying likely ore body locations.
The first method, not widely used in the Colorado Plateau, looks for physiologic and morphologic changes in plants growing in or around ore bodies.
This method provides information about likely ore bodies down to a depth of between 50 and 70 feet, and is generally good in areas where mineralized beds form broad flat benches, so that a grid pattern can be used.
Some uranium ore bodies contain higher concentrations of certain elements, such as selenium, than the surrounding host rock in which they are found.
For example, in areas such as the Colorado Plateau, various species of Astragalus are selenium concentrators (A. pattersoni, A. preussi, A. thompsonae).