The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848 when gold was discovered by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill. Nearly 300,000 people immigrated to California from around the world in hopes of striking it rich. The population of California skyrocketed from 1,600 to over 100,000 in just one year. Two routes were taken by prospectors - an arduous months-long sea voyage around South America or an overland journey of over 2,000 miles along the Oregon-California Trail. While some prospectors did find gold and become wealthy, most did not strike it rich. The massive influx of immigrants transformed California economically and politically, leading to its statehood in 1850.

1. The California Gold Rush

2. January 24, 1848 The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's mill, in Coloma, California.News of the discovery brought some 300,000 people to California from the rest of the united states and abroad. Of the 300,000, approximately half arrived by sea and half came overland.

5. immigrants On February 2, 1848 the first ship with Chinese immigrants seeking fortune in California's gold country arrived in San Francisco. In the next two years, thousands upon thousands of Easterners who might never have thought about migrating to such a remote territory would pour into the region. By 1850, there were more than 100,000 immigrants.

6. The route’s There were two miserable choices. The sea route around the tip of South America often took more than six months. But the alternative wasn't much better--a 2,000 mile walk across the barren American outback. The sea route was favored by gold seekers from the eastern states. Seasickness was rampant; food was full of bugs, or worse-rancid. Water stored for months in a ship's hold was almost impossible to drink. And then there was the boredom--months and months at sea with nothing to do, except dream about gold.

7. For speed, a quicker route was soon employed across Panama. It seemed like a logical shortcut. But traversing the rain forests of Central America in the 1840s was an adventure in itself. Malaria and cholera were common. Those who survived to see the Pacific faced another dilemma--they were stranded. Ships to ferry them up the coast to San Francisco were rare. And so the forty-niners waited for weeks--or months, in overcrowded, disease-infested coastal towns.

8. For Americans who lived in the central states, there was another way west--a well-worn path carved out several years earlier: the Oregon-California Trail. The overland road was much shorter than the sea route, but it wasn't faster. Most had no idea how severe the overland journey would be.

9. The Oregon trail

10. Techniques for retrieving gold At first a technique called panning was used to retrieve gold from streams and riverbeds. Hydraulic mining was later invented in California. This technique was created for larger scale gold mining.

13. Other facts California is the 31st state admitted to the US. Samuel Brannan was the first millionaire because of the California gold rush.

14. Home work Who discovered the first gold nugget? Why were the gold seekers called “49ers?” What were some reasons that most prospectors did not strike it rich? How long did the California gold rush last? What was the total amount in dollars found in gold after the gold rush was over?

15. bibliography Web sites http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/journey.html http://www.calliope.org/gold/gold2.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Gold_Rush Books American pathways to the present page 255 and 256