By : Sai KothapalliPeriod: 5

THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH

1. The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848 when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutters Mill in Coloma California.

Modern picture of Sutters Mill, California where the gold rush started.

2. Gold found was valued from $12.00 to $35.00 an ounce, In modern times it is worth $1,439.40 an ounce.

Gold

3. Gold Seekers in the Gold Rush were called 49ers, which where the football team gets their name from.

The San Francisco 49ers football team logo.

4. Between the dates 1848 and 1854 over 300,000 people migrated to California.

People at the Gold Rush.

5. Because of poor planning many people who were searching for gold were unprepared for the hot and dry deserts of Nevada so they would spend $100 on water because they could not find any.

6. Much of the gold that was recovered was used to buy food, clothing, and supplies. The money also went towards entertainment, which consisted of anything from a traveling theater to alcohol, gambling, and prostitutes.

7. Types of mining included panning, sluicing, hydraulicking, hardrock or quartz mining, and dredging.

8. At one point during the gold rush, eggs were $3.00 each; whiskey was $16.00 a bottle, pills were $10.00 each without advice, $100 with. This was caused because of the lack of those supplies they had.

9. The California Gold Rush concluded in 1855 because most of the gold was recovered.