Week 22: California Studies Weekly

How did miners declare that a certain piece of ground was theirs to prospect?

• They threw down a pick ax and yelled Eureka! 
• A miner marked the land. Each mining camp set up their own claiming offices and had different rules when applying to a mining camp. Each miner could only have 1 claim at a time
• They dug deep holes so they could reach the gold faster, as long as they were no deeper than 20 feet
• A miner used Google Maps to determine their location and how close they were to the nearest gold field. Once their location was found, they used the Gold Rush app to find instructions on how to retrieve the goal the fastest

How were laws regarding mining made during 1849?

• The government had specific laws
• Each miner wrote different laws
• Each mining community made its own laws community 
• Each city made its own laws

Which was the longest route?

• New York to the Isthmus of Panama to San Francisco 
• From New York, to Cape Horn to San Francisco
• They were both the same
• New York to the Oregon Trail to San Francisco

Which route would require using a wagon?

• The Isthmus/Panama route
• Rounding Cape Horn
• The Overland Trail
• All the above

In the article, "Seeing the Elephant", we learn that some claimed that they had seen the "elephant tracks" or the "elephant's tail" and did not care to see any more. What did they mean by that?

• They didn't like California
• They were last on the parade
• They turned back before reaching the gold fields
• They were pulling the wagons last

What were the 3 main routes Americans used to travel to California?

• The Overland trail, around Cape Horn, across the Isthmus of Panama
• The Overland trail, the Southern tip of North America, the Oregon Trail
• The Overland trail, around Cape Horn, and the Isthmus of South America
• The Overland Trail, the Oregon Trail, and Mexico

What happened to the 34 people from the Bidwell Part who decided to head to California after half of the group headed to Oregon?

• They did not make it and returned home.
• They were stranded in the Sierra Nevada
• They arrived at Marsh Ranch
• They cut through the Wasatch Mountains and arrived safely

How long did it take travelers to get to California if they traveled by way of the Isthmus of Panama?

• 8 months to Panama and then up to an additional 4 months
• 12 months to Panama and then an additional 2 months
• 2 months to Panama, and then countless months after
• None of them

Which was the safest way to travel to California from the East?

• Sail all the way around Cape Horn, the Southern tip of South American Country of Chile
• Sail from New York to Central America and crossing the Isthmus of Panama
• The Overland Trail
• Choice Orange and Red

What did the 49ers mean when they said they were "going to see the elephant"?

• They were going to go to the San Francisco Zoo to see the world's largest elephants
• The Elephant was the name of the biggest mining claim
• Regardless of the danger, they were going West to find out for themselves what it was really like
• They were going to travel to the San Francisco port, which looked like an outline of an Elephant