Yes, definitely. But don't expect to get rich. Best time to look is after heavy winter storms when gold that was underground gets washed to the surface. Good Luck!
It's unlikely that prospecting goes on any more anywhere in the United States; the population is so dense that almost all natural resources that exist here have been discovered and exploited.
I would say yes there are. People look for gold all over the world. If this is a place where gold has known to be found you will get someone prospecting if only for a hobby. Some do it for their holiday or as a weekend pastime, it can be a fun thing to do.
Yes there are, but for the most part this is now much more of a hobby than an occupation. The gold prospecting in most all of California has been nearly abandoned due to less gold being found.
In 2010, there are people that are still mining for gold in Sonoma, Ca. In fact, tourists visiting Northern California can join several tours that take them to gold "hot spots" for their own chance to strike it rich.
This question seems to be off-base. Sonoma isn't in the gold country. A question that would make more sense is "Are there still people gold prospecting in Sonora, CA? And the answer would be yes, there are people prospecting in the Sonora area, if not in Sonora proper.
