History of California
To 1899
Gold Rush (1848)
American Civil War (1861-1865)
1900 to present
Maritime
Railroad
Slavery
Los Angeles
San Diego
San Francisco

The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began shortly after January 24, 1848 (when gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in Coloma). As news of the discovery spread, some 300,000 people came to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. These early gold-seekers, called "forty-niners," traveled to California by sailing ship and in covered wagons across the continent, often facing substantial hardships on the trip. While most of the newly-arrived were Americans, the Gold Rush also attracted tens of thousands from Latin America, Europe, Australia and Asia. At first, the prospectors retrieved the gold from streams and riverbeds using simple techniques, such as panning, and later developed more sophisticated methods of gold recovery that were adopted around the world. Gold, worth billions of today's dollars, was recovered leading to great wealth for a few. Many, however, returned home with little more than they started with. Download high resolution version (700x900, 118 KB)Image of a California Poppy flower. ... Californias Yosemite Valley. ... Among the states, remote California played the least role in the American Civil War. ... This article continues the history of California in the years 1900 and later; for events through 1899, see History of California to 1899. ... Map showing Island of California, circa 1650 Maritime history of California is a term used to describe significant past events relating to the U.S. State of California in areas concerning shipping, shipwrecks, and military installations and lighthouses constructed to protect or aid navigation and development of the state. ... The establishment of Americas transcontinental rail lines securely linked California to the rest of the country, and the far-reaching transportation systems that grew out of them during the century that followed contributed to the state’s social, political, and economic development. ... Slavery in California existed among the native peoples of that region long before the arrival of the first European colonists. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The recorded history of the San Diego , California region goes back to the Spanish penetration of California in the 16th century. ... The history of San Francisco, California has been greatly influenced by its coastal location, which has made it a natural center for maritime trade and military activity. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... Sutters Mill in 1850. ... Coloma is a former small town in El Dorado County, California, USA (Latitude/Longitude: 38. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Forty-niners were the participants of the California Gold Rush 1848 - 1854. ... Traditional wooden cutter under sail. ... A covered wagon replica at the High Desert Museum The Conestoga wagon is a heavy, broad-wheeled covered freight carrier used extensively during the United States Westward Expansion in the late 1700s and 1800s. ... For other meanings, see Gold rush (disambiguation) A California Gold Rush handbill A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of commercial quantities of gold. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking. ... A sluice box used in placer mining Placer mining (pronounced plass-er) is a open-pit or open-cast form of mining by which certain valuable minerals are extracted from the earth without tunneling. ... USD redirects here. ...

The effects of the Gold Rush were substantial. San Francisco grew from a tiny hamlet of tents to a boomtown, and roads, churches, schools and other towns were built. A system of laws and a government were created, leading to the admission of California as a state in 1850. New methods of transportation developed as steamships came into regular service and railroads were built. The business of agriculture, California's next major growth field, was started on a wide scale throughout the state. However, the Gold Rush also had negative effects: Native Americans were attacked and pushed off traditional lands, and gold mining caused environmental harm. San Francisco redirects here. ... A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of... Paddle steamers - Lucerne-Switzerland Left: original paddlewheel from a paddle steamer on the lake of Lucerne. ... The establishment of Americas transcontinental rail lines securely linked California to the rest of the country, and the far-reaching transportation systems that grew out of them during the century that followed contributed to the state’s social, political, and economic development. ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... Gold mining consists of the processes and techniques employed in the removal of gold from the ground. ...

Overview

California goldfields in the Sierra Nevada and northern California

The Gold Rush started at Sutter's Mill, near Coloma.^[1] On January 24, 1848 James W. Marshall, a foreman working for Sacramento pioneer John Sutter, found pieces of shiny metal in the tailrace of a lumber mill Marshall was building for Sutter, along the American River.^[2] Marshall quietly brought what he found to Sutter, and the two of them privately tested the findings. The tests showed Marshall's particles to be gold. Sutter was dismayed by this, and wanted to keep the news quiet because he feared what would happen to his plans for an agricultural empire if there were a mass search for gold.^[3] However, rumors soon started to spread and were confirmed in March 1848 by San Francisco newspaper publisher and merchant Samuel Brannan. The most famous quote of the California Gold Rush was by Brannan; after he hurriedly set up a store to sell gold prospecting supplies,^[4] Brannan strode through the streets of San Francisco, holding aloft a vial of gold, shouting "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!"^[5] Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (724x1071, 991 KB) self-made with PD USGS map as base I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (724x1071, 991 KB) self-made with PD USGS map as base I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... This article is about the mountain range in the Western United States. ... Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. ... Sutters Mill in 1850. ... Coloma is a former small town in El Dorado County, California, USA (Latitude/Longitude: 38. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... James Wilson Marshall (October 8, 1810 - August 10, 1885) was an American carpenter and sawmill operator, whose discovery of gold in the American River in California in January 1848 set the stage for the California Gold Rush. ... Sacramento redirects here. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... An overshot water wheel standing 42 feet high powers the Old Mill at Berry College in Rome, Georgia A water wheel (also waterwheel, Norse mill, Persian wheel or noria) is a hydropower system; a system for extracting power from a flow of water. ... The American River, located in the US state of California, has a prominent place in American history for being the site of Sutters Mill, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush. ... Nuevo Helvetia (also known as New Helvetia or New Switzerland) was a Mexican-era California settlement. ... San Francisco redirects here. ... Samuel Brannan (March 2, 1819 - May 14, 1889), was the first publicist of the California gold rush and the first millionaire because of the rush. ...

On August 19 1848, the New York Herald was the first major newspaper on the East Coast to report that there was a gold rush in California; on December 5, President James Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in an address to Congress.^[6] Soon, waves of immigrants from around the world, later called the "forty-niners," invaded the Gold Country of California or "Mother Lode." As Sutter had feared, he was ruined; his workers left in search of gold, and squatters invaded his land and stole his crops and cattle.^[7] Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835 and 1924. ... Red shows states east of the Mississippi River, pink shows states not fully eastern or western The U.S. Eastern states are the states east of the Mississippi River. ... is the 339th day of the year (340th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795–June 15, 1849) was an American politician and the eleventh U.S. President, serving from March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849. ... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate President pro tempore Dick Cheney, (R) since January 20, 2001 Robert C. Byrd, (D) since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, (D) since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political... 2000 Census Population Ancestry Map Immigration to the United States of America is the movement of non-residents to the United States. ... Gold Country (also Mother Lode Country) is a region of northeastern California famed for the mines and mineral deposits which so famously brought the 49ers west for the California Gold Rush. ... For other uses, see squat. ...

San Francisco had been a tiny settlement before the rush began. When residents learned of the discovery, it at first became a ghost town of abandoned ships and businesses whose owners joined the Gold Rush,^[8] but it then boomed as merchants and new people arrived. The population of San Francisco exploded from perhaps 1,000^[9] in 1848 to 25,000 full-time residents by 1850.^[10] As with many boomtowns, the sudden influx of people strained the infrastructure of San Francisco and other towns near the goldfields. People lived in tents, wood shanties, or deck cabins removed from abandoned ships.^[11] For other uses, see Ghost town (disambiguation). ...

Routes to California in 1849

In what has been referred to as the "first world-class gold rush,"^[12] there was no easy way to get to California; forty-niners faced hardship and often death on the way to the gold fields. At first, most Argonauts, as they were also known, traveled by sea. From the East Coast, a sailing voyage around the tip of South America would take five to eight months,^[13] and cover some 18,000 nautical miles (33,000 km). An alternative route was to sail to the Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Panama, to take canoes and mules for a week through the jungle, and then on the Pacific side, to wait for a ship sailing for San Francisco.^[14] There was also a route across Mexico starting at Vera Cruz. Eventually, most gold-seekers took the overland route across the continental United States, particularly along the California Trail.^[15] Each of these routes had its own deadly hazards, from shipwreck to typhoid fever and cholera.^[16] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 482 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (618 × 768 pixel, file size: 111 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Original Source - Map of the Gold Regions of California, Showing Routes Historic Maps of the California Gold Rush File historyClick on a date/time to view... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 482 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (618 × 768 pixel, file size: 111 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Original Source - Map of the Gold Regions of California, Showing Routes Historic Maps of the California Gold Rush File historyClick on a date/time to view... The Argo, by Lorenzo Costa In Greek mythology, the Argonauts (Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest for the Golden Fleece. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. ... “km” redirects here. ... The Atlantic Ocean, not including Arctic and Antarctic regions. ... The Isthmus of Panama. ... This article is about the boat. ... For other uses, see Mule (disambiguation). ... Tropic wet forests in the World Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, also known as tropical wet forests, are a tropical and subtropical forest biome. ... Pacific redirects here. ... Main route of California Trail (thick red line), including Applegate-Lassen and Beckwourth variations (thinner red lines) The California Trail was a major overland emigrant route across the Western United States from Missouri to California in the middle 19th century. ... For a similar disease with a similar name, see typhus. ... Cholera (or Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is an extreme diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. ...

To meet the demands of the new arrivals, ships bearing goods from around the world—porcelain and silk from China, ale from Scotland—poured into San Francisco as well.^[17] Upon reaching San Francisco, ship captains found that their crews deserted and went to the gold fields. The wharves and docks of San Francisco became a forest of masts, as hundreds of ships were abandoned. Enterprising San Franciscans then took over these abandoned ships and turned them into warehouses, stores, taverns, hotels, and one into a jail.^[18] Many of these ships were later destroyed and used for landfill to create more buildable land in the boomtown. “Fine China” redirects here. ... For other uses of this word, see Silk (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Ale (disambiguation). ... This article is about the country. ... For other uses of Desertion, see Abandonment. ... Metung Wharf on Bancroft Bay, Gippsland Lakes, Victoria, Australia A wharf is a fixed platform, commonly on pilings, roughly parallel to and alongside navigable water, where ships are loaded and unloaded. ... Look up landfill in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

San Francisco harbor in April 1850

Within a few years, there was an important but lesser-known surge of prospectors into far Northern California, specifically into present-day Siskiyou, Shasta and Trinity Counties.^[19] Discovery of gold nuggets at the site of present-day Yreka in 1851 brought thousands of gold-seekers up the Siskiyou Trail^[20] and throughout California's northern counties.^[21] Settlements of the Gold Rush era, such as Portuguese Flat on the Sacramento River, sprang into existence and then faded. The Gold Rush town of Weaverville on the Trinity River today retains the oldest continuously-used Taoist temple in California, a legacy of Chinese miners who came. While there are not many Gold Rush era ghost towns still in existence, the well-preserved remains of the once-bustling town of Shasta is a California State Historic Park in Northern California.^[22] Image File history File linksMetadata San_Francisco_Harbor_April_1850. ... Image File history File linksMetadata San_Francisco_Harbor_April_1850. ... Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. ... Siskiyou County is a county located in the far northernmost part of the U.S. state of California, in the Shasta Cascade region on the Oregon border. ... Shasta County is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, in the Cascade Mountains. ... Trinity County is a county located in northwestern California, along the Trinity River and among the Klamath Mountains. ... Yreka (pronounced wye-REE-ka ()) is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California. ... The Siskiyou Trail stretched from Californias Central Valley to Oregons Willamette Valley; modern-day Interstate 5 follows this pioneer path. ... Portuguese Flat, California, was a mining camp of the early 1850s during the California Gold Rush, consisting largely of Portuguese miners, located about 35 miles north of Redding, California, USA). ... The Sacramento River is the longest river in the U.S. state of California. ... Weaverville is a census-designated place and the county seat of Trinity County, California. ... The Trinity River is the longest tributary of the Klamath River, approximately 130 mi (209 km) long, in northwestern California in the United States. ... Taoism (or Daoism) is the English name referring to a variety of related Chinese philosophical traditions and concepts. ... A bustling town of the 1850s through the 1880s, Shasta was for its time, the largest settlement in Shasta County and the surrounding area. ... This is a list of California State Historic Parks. ...

Gold was also discovered in Southern California but on a much smaller scale. The first discovery of gold, at Rancho San Francisco in the mountains north of present-day Los Angeles, had been in 1842, six years before Marshall's discovery, while California was still part of Mexico.^[23] However, these first deposits, and later discoveries in Southern California mountains, attracted little notice and were of limited consequence economically.^[23] This article is about the region of Southern California. ... 1843 Map of Rancho San Francisco Rancho San Francisco was a 48,612-acre (19,672. ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... Californias Yosemite Valley. ...

By 1850, most of the easily accessible gold had been collected, and attention turned to the task of extracting the gold from more difficult locations. Faced with gold that was increasingly difficult to retrieve, Americans began to drive out foreigners to get at the most accessible gold that remained. The new California State Legislature passed a foreign miners tax of twenty dollars per month, and American prospectors began organized attacks on foreign miners, particularly Latin Americans and Chinese.^[24] In addition, the huge numbers of newcomers were driving Native Americans out of their traditional hunting, fishing and food gathering areas. To protect their homes and livelihood, Native Americans responded by attacking the miners. This provoked counter-attacks by miners on native villages. The Native Americans, out-gunned, were often slaughtered.^[25] Those who escaped the massacres were many times unable to survive without access to their food-gathering areas, and they starved to death. Novelist and poet Joaquin Miller vividly captured one such attack in his semi-autobiographical work, Life Amongst the Modocs.^[26] Californias Capitol, where the State Legislature meets California State Assembly chamber California state Senate chamber The California Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of California. ... A prospector is normally a person who explores an area for natural resources such as minerals, oil, flora or fauna. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... Joaquin Miller Joaquin Miller was the pen name of the colorful American poet, essayist and fabulist Cincinnatus Heine (or Hiner) Miller (March 10, 1841, or alternatively September 8, 1837, or November 10, 1841 - February 17, 1913). ... For other uses, see Modoc (disambiguation). ...

The forty-niners

Panning for gold on the Mokelumne River

The first people to rush to the gold fields, beginning in the spring of 1848, were the residents of California themselves—primarily Americans and Europeans living in Northern California, along with Native Americans and some Californios (Spanish-speaking Californians).^[27] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1156x1333, 1172 KB)[edit] Summary Originally published in Harpers Weekly, 1860, as part of the article How We Got Gold in California. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1156x1333, 1172 KB)[edit] Summary Originally published in Harpers Weekly, 1860, as part of the article How We Got Gold in California. ... The Mokelumne River is a river flowing from the Sierras to a confluence with the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley of California. ... Languages Spanish Religions Predominantly Roman Catholic Related ethnic groups Mediterranean Amerindian Mestizo The Californios were Spanish-speaking inhabitants of Alta California, first a part of New Spain, later of Mexico. ...

The word of the Gold Rush spread slowly at first. The earliest gold-seekers to arrive in California during 1848 were people who lived near California, or people who heard the news from ships on the fastest sailing routes from California. The first large group of Americans to arrive were several thousand Oregonians who came down the Siskiyou Trail.^[28] Next came people from Hawaii, by ship, and several thousand Latin Americans, including people from Mexico, from Peru and from as far away as Chile,^[29] both by ship and overland.^[30] By the end of 1848, some 6,000 Argonauts had come to California.^[30] Only a small number (probably fewer than 500) traveled overland from the United States that year.^[30] Some of these "forty-eighters," as these very earliest gold-seekers were also sometimes called, were able to collect large amounts of easily accessible gold—in some cases, thousands of dollars worth each day.^[31][32] Even ordinary prospectors averaged daily gold finds worth ten to fifteen times the daily wage of a laborer on the East Coast. A person could work for six months in the goldfields and find the equivalent of six years' wages back home.^[33] The Oregon Territory is the name applied both to the unorganized Oregon Country claimed by both the United States and Britain, as well as to the organized U.S. territory formed from it that existed between 1848 and 1859. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ...

By the beginning of 1849, word of the Gold Rush had spread around the world, and an overwhelming number of gold-seekers and merchants began to arrive from virtually every continent. The largest group of forty-niners in 1849 were Americans, arriving by the tens of thousands overland across the continent and along various sailing routes ^[34] (the name "forty-niner" was derived from the year 1849). Australians^[35] and New Zealanders picked up the news from ships carrying Hawaiian newspapers, and thousands, infected with "gold fever," boarded ships for California.^[36] Forty-niners came from Latin America, particularly from the Mexican mining districts near Sonora.^[36] Gold-seekers and merchants from Asia, primarily from China,^[37] began arriving in 1849, at first in modest numbers to "Gold Mountain," the name given to California in Chinese. The first immigrants from Europe, reeling from the effects of the Revolutions of 1848 and with a longer distance to travel, began arriving in late 1849, mostly from France,^[38] with some Germans, Italians, and Britons.^[34] This article is about the Mexican state of Sonora. ... Gold Mountain (1,761 feet) is the highest point in Kitsap County, Washington. ... The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations or the Year of Revolution, were a revolutionary wave which erupted in Sicily and then, further triggered by the revolutions of 1848 in France, soon spread to the rest of Europe and as far afield as... This article is about the historical state called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1927). ...

It is estimated that almost 90,000 people arrived in California in 1849—about half by land and half by sea.^[39] Of these, perhaps 50,000 to 60,000 were Americans, and the rest were from other countries.^[34] By 1855, it is estimated at least 300,000 gold-seekers, merchants, and other immigrants had arrived in California from around the world.^[40] The largest group continued to be Americans, but there were tens of thousands each of Mexicans, Chinese, French, and Latin Americans,^[41] together with many smaller groups of miners, such as Filipinos and Basques.^[42] A modest number of miners of African ancestry (probably less than 4,000)^[43] had come from the Southern States,^[44] the Caribbean and Brazil.^[45] Language(s) Basque - few monoglots Spanish - 1,525,000 monoglots French - 150,000 monoglots Basque-Spanish - 600,000 speakers Basque-French - 76,000 speakers [4] other native languages Religion(s) Traditionally Roman Catholic The Basques (Basque: ) are an indigenous people[5] who inhabit parts of north-central Spain and southwestern... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Historic Southern United States. ... West Indies redirects here. ...

Legal rights

When the Gold Rush began, California was a peculiarly lawless place. On the day when gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill, California was still technically part of Mexico, under American military occupation as the result of the Mexican-American War. With the signing of the treaty ending the war on February 2, 1848, California became a possession of the United States, but it was not a formal "territory" and did not become a state until September 9, 1850. California existed in the unusual condition of a region under military control. There was no civil legislature, executive or judicial body for the entire region.^[46] Local residents operated under a confusing and changing mixture of Mexican rules, American principles, and personal dictates. Combatants United States Mexico Commanders Zachary Taylor Winfield Scott Stephen W. Kearney Antonio López de Santa Anna Mariano Arista Pedro de Ampudia José Mariá Flores Strength 78,790 soldiers 25,000–40,000 soldiers Casualties KIA: 1733 Total dead: 13,271 Wounded: 4,152 AWOL: 9,200+ 25,000... The Mexican Cession (red) and the Gadsden Purchase (orange). ... is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... In the history of the United States, an organized territory is a territory for which the United States Congress has enacted an Organic Act. ...

While the treaty ending the Mexican-American War obliged the United States to honor Mexican land grants,^[47] almost all of the goldfields were outside those grants. Instead, the goldfields were primarily on "public land," meaning land formally owned by the United States government.^[48] However, there were no legal rules yet in place, and no practical enforcement mechanisms.^[49]

Gold miners excavate a river bed after the water has been diverted into a sluice alongside the river.

The benefit to the forty-niners was that the gold was "free for the taking." In the goldfields, there was no private property, no licensing fees, and no taxes.^[50] The forty-niners resorted to making up their own codes and setting up their own local enforcement. The miners essentially adopted Mexican mining law existing in California.^[51] The rules provided that a "claim" could be "staked" by a prospector, but that claim was valid only as long as it was being actively worked.^[52] Miners worked at a claim only long enough to determine its potential. If a claim was deemed as low-value—as most were—miners would abandon the site in search for legendary bonanza sites. In the case where a claim was abandoned or not worked upon, other miners would "claim-jump" the land. "Claim-jumping" means that a miner began work on a previously claimed site.^[52] Disputes were sometimes handled personally and violently, and were sometimes addressed by groups of prospectors acting as arbitrators.^[48][52] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1000x664, 114 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): California Gold Rush Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1000x664, 114 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): California Gold Rush Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Sluice gates near Henley, on the River Thames A small wooden sluice in Magome, Japan, used to power a waterwheel. ... Taxation in the United States is a complex system which may involve payment to at least four different levels of government. ... Land claims are claims of control over areas of land and included bodies of water. ... Arbitration, in the law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution — specifically, a legal alternative to litigation whereby the parties to a dispute agree to submit their respective positions (through agreement or hearing) to a neutral third party (the arbitrator(s) or arbiter(s)) for resolution. ...

The rules of mining claims adopted by the forty-niners spread with each new mining rush throughout the western United States. The U.S. Congress finally legalized the practice in the "Chaffee laws" of 1866.^[53] The Mining Act of 1872 is U.S. federal legislation which authorizes and governs prospecting and mining for hard rock minerals such as gold and silver. ...

Development of gold recovery techniques

Because the gold in the California gravel beds was so richly concentrated, the early forty-niners simply panned for gold in California's rivers and streams, a form of placer mining.^[54] However, panning cannot be done on a large scale, and industrious miners and groups of miners graduated to placer mining "cradles" and "rockers" or "long-toms"^[55] to process larger volumes of gravel.^[56] In the most complex placer mining, groups of prospectors would divert the water from an entire river into a sluice alongside the river, and then dig for gold in the newly-exposed river bottom.^[57] Modern estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey are that some 12 million ounces^[58] (370 t) of gold were removed in the first five years of the Gold Rush (worth approximately US$10 billion at November 2007 prices).^[59] Miners operate a hydraulic sluice in San Francisquito Canyon, Los Angeles County. ... Sluice gates near Henley, on the River Thames A small wooden sluice in Magome, Japan, used to power a waterwheel. ... InsertSLUTTY WHORES≤ non-formatted text here{| class=toccolours border=1 cellpadding=4 style=float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 20em; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; clear: right; |+ United States Geological Survey |- |style= align=center colspan=2| [[Image:USGS logo. ... A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ... USD redirects here. ...

Gold miners excavate a gold-bearing bluff with jets of water at a placer mine in Dutch Flat, California sometime between 1857 and 1870.

In the next stage, by 1853, the first hydraulic mining was used on ancient gold-bearing gravel beds that were on hillsides and bluffs in the gold fields.^[60] In hydraulic mining (which was invented in California at this time), a high-pressure hose directs a powerful stream of water at gold-bearing gravel beds. The loosened gravel and gold then pass over sluices, with the gold settling to the bottom where it is collected. By the mid-1880s, it is estimated that 11 million ounces (340 t) of gold (worth approximately US$6.6 billion at November 2006 prices) had been recovered via "hydraulicking."^[59] Image File history File links X-60072. ... Image File history File links X-60072. ... Hydraulic mining, or hydraulicking, is a form of mining that employs water under pressure to dislodge rock material or move sediment. ...

A byproduct of this method of extraction was that large amounts of gravel and silt, in addition to heavy metals and other pollutants, went into streams and rivers.^[61] Many areas still bear the scars of hydraulic mining since the resulting exposed earth and downstream gravel deposits are unable to support plant life.^[62] For other uses, see Silt (disambiguation). ...

Quartz Stamp Mill in Grass Valley crushes the quartz before the gold is washed out.

After the Gold Rush had concluded, gold recovery operations continued. The final stage to recover loose gold was to prospect for gold that had slowly washed down into the flat river bottoms and sandbars of California's Central Valley and other gold-bearing areas of California (such as Scott Valley in Siskiyou County). By the late 1890s, dredging technology (which was also invented in California) had become economical,^[63] and it is estimated that more than 20 million ounces (620 t) were recovered by dredging (worth approximately US$12 billion at November 2006 prices).^[59] Image File history File linksMetadata Quartz_Stamp_Mill. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Quartz_Stamp_Mill. ... Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County, California, United States. ... For other uses, see Quartz (disambiguation). ... The California Central Valley Part of the Valley as seen from overhead A typical Central Valley scene at ground level The California Central Valley is a large, flat valley that dominates the central portion of the U.S. state of California. ... Scott Valley is a large, scenic rural area of western Siskiyou County, California, known for its vistas of the Trinity Alps, cattle and dairy ranches, and its historic background as a gold mining area, dating back to the days of the California Gold Rush. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Both during the Gold Rush and in the decades that followed, gold-seekers also engaged in "hard-rock" mining, that is, extracting the gold directly from the rock that contained it (typically quartz), usually by digging and blasting to follow and remove veins of the gold-bearing quartz.^[64] Once the gold-bearing rocks were brought to the surface, the rocks were crushed, and the gold was separated out (using moving water), or leached out, typically by using arsenic or mercury (another source of environmental contamination).^[65] Eventually, hard-rock mining wound up being the single largest source of gold produced in the Gold Country.^[59] This article is about mineral extractions. ... For other uses, see Quartz (disambiguation). ... General Name, Symbol, Number arsenic, As, 33 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 15, 4, p Appearance metallic gray Standard atomic weight 74. ... This article is about the element. ... Gold Country (also Mother Lode Country) is a region of northeastern California famed for the mines and mineral deposits which so famously brought the 49ers west for the California Gold Rush. ...

Profits

A man leans over a wooden sluice. Rocks line the outside of the wood boards that create the sluice.

Although the conventional wisdom is that merchants made more money than miners during the Gold Rush, the reality is perhaps more complex. There were certainly merchants who profited handsomely. The wealthiest man in California during the early years of the Gold Rush was Samuel Brannan, the tireless self-promoter, shopkeeper and newspaper publisher.^[66] Brannan alertly opened the first supply stores in Sacramento, Coloma, and other spots in the gold fields. Just as the Gold Rush began, he purchased all the prospecting supplies available in San Francisco and re-sold them at a substantial profit.^[66] However, substantial money was made by gold-seekers as well. For example, within a few months, one small group of prospectors, working on the Feather River in 1848, retrieved a sum of gold worth more than $1.5 million by 2006 prices.^[67] Image File history File links P-1252. ... Image File history File links P-1252. ... Samuel Brannan (March 2, 1819 - May 14, 1889), was the first publicist of the California gold rush and the first millionaire because of the rush. ... This article treats the river in California. ...

On average, many early gold-seekers did perhaps make a modest profit, after all expenses were taken into account. Most, however, especially those arriving later, made little or wound up losing money.^[68][69] Similarly, many unlucky merchants set up in settlements that disappeared, or were wiped out in one of the calamitous fires that swept the towns springing up.^[70] Other businessmen, through good fortune and hard work, reaped great rewards in retail, shipping, entertainment, lodging,^[71] or transportation.^[72]

By 1855, the economic climate had changed dramatically. Gold could be retrieved profitably from the goldfields only by medium to large groups of workers, either in partnerships or as employees.^[73] By the mid-1850s, it was the owners of these gold-mining companies who made the money. Also, the population and economy of California had become large and diverse enough that money could be made in a wide variety of conventional businesses.^[74]

Path of the gold

Once the gold was recovered, there were many paths the gold itself took. First, much of the gold was used locally to purchase food, supplies and lodging for the miners. These transactions often took place using the recently recovered gold, carefully weighed out.^[75] These merchants and vendors, in turn, used the gold to purchase supplies from ship captains or packers bringing goods to California.^[76] The gold then left California aboard ships or mules to go to the makers of the goods from around the world. A second path was the Argonauts themselves who, having personally acquired a sufficient amount, sent the gold home, or returned home taking with them their hard-earned "diggings." For example, one estimate is that some US$80 million worth of California gold was sent to France by French prospectors and merchants.^[77] As the Gold Rush progressed, local banks and gold dealers issued "banknotes" or "drafts"—locally accepted paper currency—in exchange for gold,^[78] and private mints created private gold coins.^[79] With the building of the San Francisco Mint in 1854, gold bullion was turned into official United States gold coins for circulation.^[80] The gold was also sent by California banks to U.S. national banks in exchange for national paper currency to be used in the booming California economy.^[81] USD redirects here. ... The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint, and was opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush. ... Reserves of foreign exchange and gold in 2006 A pile of 12. ...

Effects

Immediate effects

A forty-niner peers into his gold pan on the banks of the American river

The arrival of hundreds of thousands of new people within a few years, compared to a population of some 15,000 Europeans and Californios beforehand,^[82] had many dramatic effects.^[83] Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 444 × 599 pixels Full resolution (1897 × 2560 pixel, file size: 581 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): California Gold Rush Metadata This... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 444 × 599 pixels Full resolution (1897 × 2560 pixel, file size: 581 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): California Gold Rush Metadata This... The American River, located in the US state of California, has a prominent place in American history for being the site of Sutters Mill, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush. ...

First, the human and environmental costs of the Gold Rush were substantial. Native Americans became the victims of disease, starvation and genocidal attacks;^[84] the Native American population, estimated at 150,000 in 1845, was less than 30,000 by 1870.^[85] Explicitly racist attacks and laws sought to drive out Chinese and Latin American immigrants.^[86] The toll on the American immigrants could be severe as well: one in twelve forty-niners perished, as the death and crime rates during the Gold Rush were extraordinarily high, and the resulting vigilantism also took its toll.^[87] In addition, the environment suffered as gravel, silt and toxic chemicals from prospecting operations killed fish and destroyed habitats.^[61][62] Native California Population, according to Cook 1978. ... For the aircraft, see A-5 Vigilante. ...

However, the Gold Rush propelled California from a sleepy, little-known backwater to a center of the global imagination and the destination of hundreds of thousands of people. The new immigrants often showed remarkable inventiveness and civic-mindedness. For example, in the midst of the Gold Rush, towns and cities were chartered, a state constitutional convention was convened, a state constitution written, elections held, and representatives sent to Washington, D.C. to negotiate the admission of California as a state.^[88] Large-scale agriculture (California's second "Gold Rush"^[89]) began during this time.^[90] Roads, schools, churches,^[91] and civic organizations quickly came into existence.^[88] The vast majority of the immigrants were Americans. Pressure grew for better communications and political connections to the rest of the United States, leading to statehood for California on September 9, 1850, in the Compromise of 1850 as the 31st state of the United States. hi:Alternative meaning: Constitutional convention (political custom) this is random:Alternative meaning: Constitutional convention (political custom) A constitutional convention is a gathering of delegates for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. ... The 1849 Constitution was signed in Colton Hall in Monterey. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of... is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the game, see: 1850 (board game) 1850 (MDCCCL) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday [1] of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Henry Clay takes the floor of the Old Senate Chamber; Millard Fillmore presides as Calhoun and Webster look on. ... The order which the original 13 states ratified the constitution, then the order that the others were admitted to the union This is a list of U.S. states by date of statehood, that is, the date when each U.S. state joined the Union. ...

The Gold Rush wealth and population increase led to significantly improved transportation between California and the East Coast. The Panama Railway, spanning the Isthmus of Panama, was finished in 1855.^[92] Steamships, including those owned by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, began regular service from San Francisco to Panama, where passengers, goods and mail would take the train across the Isthmus and board steamships headed to the East Coast. One ill-fated journey, that of the S.S. Central America, ended in disaster as the ship sank in a hurricane off the coast of the Carolinas in 1857, with an estimated three tons of California gold aboard.^[93][94] The Panama Railway or Panama Railroad was the worlds first transcontinental railroad. ... The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded in 1848 to transport mail under contract from the United States Government from the Isthmus of Panama to California. ... This article is about weather phenomena. ... The Carolinas is a collective term used in the United States to refer to the states of North and South Carolina together. ...

Within a few years after the end of the Gold Rush, in 1863, the groundbreaking ceremony for the western leg of the First Transcontinental Railroad was held in Sacramento. The line's completion, some six years later, financed in part with Gold Rush money,^[95] united California with the central and eastern United States. Travel that had taken weeks or even months could now be accomplished in days.^[96] This article refers to a railroad built in the United States between Omaha and Sacramento completed in 1869. ...

The Gold Rush stimulated economies around the world as well. Farmers in Chile, Australia, and Hawaii found a huge new market for their food; British manufactured goods were in high demand; clothing and even pre-fabricated houses arrived from China.^[97] The return of large amounts of California gold to pay for these goods raised prices and stimulated investment and the creation of jobs around the world.^[98] Australian prospector, Edward Hargraves, noting similarities between the geography of California and his home, returned to Australia to discover gold and spark the Australian gold rushes.^[99] This article is about the U.S. State. ... Edward Hammond Hargraves (October 7, 1816–1891) was a gold prospector who claimed to have found gold in Australia in 1851, starting the Australian gold rush. ... Cassilis Mine, circa 1900 The Australian gold rushes started in 1851 when prospector Edward Hargraves proclaimed his discovery of gold near Bathurst, New South Wales, at a site Hargraves called Ophir. ...

Long-term effects

California's name became indelibly connected with the Gold Rush, and as a result, was connected with what became known as the "California Dream." California was perceived as a place of new beginnings, where great wealth could reward hard work and good luck. Historian H. W. Brands noted that in the years after the Gold Rush, the California Dream spread to the rest of the United States and became part of the new "American Dream." Henry William Brands is an American historian and author of 20 books, co-author of 2 and editor of 4, he is also a Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. ...

Miners operate a hydraulic sluice in San Francisquito Canyon, Los Angeles County. The placer mine machine consists of adobe columns, pulleys, ropes, and wood boxes. Donkeys are loaded with ore bags.

Generations of immigrants have been attracted by the California Dream. California farmers,^[101] oil drillers,^[102] movie makers,^[103] airplane builders,^[104] and "dot-com" entrepreneurs^[105] have each had their boom times in the decades after the Gold Rush. Image File history File links X-60073. ... Image File history File links X-60073. ... The St. ... Los Angeles County is a county in California and is by far the most populous county in the United States. ... Renewal of the surface coating of an adobe wall in Chamisal, New Mexico Adobe is a natural building material composed of sand, sandy clay and straw or other organic materials, which is shaped into bricks using wooden frames and dried in the sun. ... For the record label, see Puritan Records. ... Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ... Poor Richards Almanack (sometimes Almanac) was a yearly almanac published by Benjamin Franklin, who adopted the pseudonym of Poor Richard or Richard Saunders for the purpose of this work in the title. ... American cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. ... The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2001 during which stock markets in Western nations saw their value increase rapidly from growth in the new Internet sector and related fields. ...

Seal of California

Included among the modern legacies of the California Gold Rush are the California state motto, "Eureka" ("I have found it"), Gold Rush images on the California State Seal, and the state nickname, "The Golden State," as well as place names, such as Placer County, Rough and Ready, Placerville (formerly named "Dry Diggings" and then "Hangtown" during rush time), Whiskeytown, Drytown, Angels Camp, Happy Camp, and Sawyer's Bar. The San Francisco 49ers National Football League team, and the similarly named athletic teams of California State University, Long Beach, are named for the prospectors of the California Gold Rush. The literary history of the Gold Rush is reflected in the works of Mark Twain (The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County), Bret Harte (A Millionaire of Rough-and-Ready), Joaquin Miller (Life Amongst the Modocs), and many others. Image File history File links Seal_of_California. ... Image File history File links Seal_of_California. ... The Great Seal of the U.S. state of California. ... Eureka (Eureka!, or Heureka; Greek (later ); IPA: (modern Greek), (ancient Greek, both former and later forms), Anglicised as ) is a famous exclamation attributed to Archimedes. ... The Great Seal of the U.S. state of California. ... Placer County is a county located in California, USAs Sierra Nevada, in the Gold Country. ... Rough and Ready is located in Nevada County, California, just a short drive west of Grass Valley. ... Placerville is the county seat of El Dorado County, California. ... Drytown is an unincorporated community in Amador County, California. ... Angels Camp, also known as City of Angels, is the only incorporated city in Calaveras County, California. ... Happy Camp is an unincorporated community in Siskiyou County, California in the United States. ... City San Francisco, California Other nicknames Niners, The Red And Gold, Bay Bombers Team colors Cardinal red, metallic gold and black Head Coach Mike Nolan Owner Denise DeBartolo York and John York General manager Lal Heneghan Mascot Sourdough Sam League/Conference affiliations All-America Football Conference (1946-1949) Western Division... NFL redirects here. ... The Walter Pyramid, the Universitys most prominent sporting complex and most recognizable landmark. ... Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910),[1] better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American humanist,[2] humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer. ... The Front page of booklet for The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County... Can A CON CON a CON? The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is an 1865 short story by Mark Twain. ... Portrait of Bret Harte - oil painting by John Pettie (1884)[1] For the professional wrestler, see Bret Hart. ... Joaquin Miller Joaquin Miller was the pen name of the colorful American poet, essayist and fabulist Cincinnatus Heine (or Hiner) Miller (March 10, 1841, or alternatively September 8, 1837, or November 10, 1841 - February 17, 1913). ...

Today, aptly-named State Route 49 travels through the Sierra Nevada foothills, connecting many Gold Rush-era towns such as Placerville, Auburn, Grass Valley, Coloma, Jackson, and Sonora.^[106] This state highway also passes very near Columbia State Historic Park, a protected area encompassing the historic business district of the town of Columbia; the park has preserved many Gold Rush-era buildings, which are presently occupied by tourist-oriented businesses. California State Route 49 (also known as the Gold Country Highway) is a scenic highway in the California Gold Country that passes through the historic mining communities of the 1849 California gold rush. ... This article is about the mountain range in the Western United States. ... Auburn is the county seat of Placer County, California, USA. The population was 12,462 at the 2000 census. ... Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County, California, United States. ... Jackson is the county seat of Amador County, California. ... Sonora is the county seat of Tuolumne County, California. ... Columbia State Historic Park, August 2005 Columbia State Historic Park is a California state park located in Columbia, California. ...

Geology

Main article: Gold in California

Scientists believe that global forces operating over hundreds of millions of years resulted in the large concentration of gold in California. Only gold that is concentrated can be economically recovered. Some 400 million years ago, California lay at the bottom of a large sea; underwater volcanoes deposited lava and minerals (including gold) onto the sea floor. Beginning about 200 million years ago, tectonic pressure forced the sea floor beneath the American continental mass.