California Gold Rush Quiz

What event led to thousands of people flocking to Sutter's Mill in California in 1848?

• The discovery of oil

• The start of the California Gold Rush

• The construction of the Oregon Trail

• The invention of the metal pan

Who discovered gold flakes in Sutter Creek which initiated the Gold Rush?

• John Sutter

• James Marshall

• Forty-niners

• Prospectors

Why were the people who traveled to California in 1849 called the Forty-niners?

• They were 49 years old

• They found 49 pounds of gold

• They left to go to California in 1849

• There were originally 49 of them

How did the Forty-niners typically travel to California?

• By airplane

• By horse or wagon across the Oregon Trail

• By sailing around the tip of South America

• By walking the entire distance

What happened to the towns after the gold rush ended?

• They became large cities

• They were abandoned and became ghost towns

• They turned into farming communities

• They were destroyed by natural disasters

What method did miners use to pan for gold?

• Using magnets to attract gold

• Scooping up soil and water and shaking it through a metal pan with a screen

• Digging deep tunnels into the mountains

• Using chemicals to dissolve rock and extract gold

Why did thousands of people travel to California in 1848-1855?

• To join the Gold Rush

• To start new farms

• To establish tech companies

• To participate in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad

Explain what events happened to cause the Gold Rush in 1848-1855.

• The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill

• The invention of the steam engine

• The signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

• The start of the Industrial Revolution

What is a prospector?

• A person who searches for mineral deposits

• A person who maps uncharted territory

• A person who trades stocks

• A person who builds mining equipment

Who were the Forty-niners?

• The first settlers in California

• The gold prospectors who arrived in 1849

• The people who traveled the Oregon Trail

• The inventors of gold mining technology