Lesson 12: Mining & Ranching Opportunities in the West

When did the California gold rush begin?

• 1848

• 1849

• 1850

• 1851

What type of gold was easily mined in California?

• Placer gold

• Vein gold

• Nugget gold

• Solid gold

What was the main motivation for the 'forty-niners' to travel to California?

• To establish towns

• To find gold

• To explore the Pacific Coast

• To work on the sawmill

What was the population of California in 1850?

• 380,000

• 93,000

• 9,000

• 40,000

What did the early miners use to extract gold and silver from solid rock?

• Hydraulic machines

• Pans and shovels

• Steamships

• Hand tools and weak explosives

What did miners call thick veins of metal?

• Mother lode

• Placer gold

• Lode gold

• Solid rock

What happened to the environment as a result of hydraulic mining?

• Rivers were polluted

• Natural habitats were destroyed

• Debris piles were left behind

• All of the above

What kind of natural resource did cattle ranchers find on the Great Plains?

• Silver

• Gold

• Water

• Grass

What did Mexican vaqueros establish in the cowboy tradition?

• Wearing boots with pointed toes

• All of the above

• Rounding up and branding cattle

• Riding horses

What increased the demand for beef in the East?

• Longhorn cattle

• Railroad lines extending west

• Cowboys

• Growing populations of eastern cities