Forty-Niners Quiz

When was gold discovered near California's Sierra Nevada mountain range?

• December 1849

• January 1848

• December 1848

• January 1849

What did the forty-niners hope to achieve?

• Build new homes

• Find new lands

• Strike it rich

• Escape from slavery

What tool did miners use to scrape gold from river rocks?

• Shovels

• Knives and spoons

• Picks

• Hammers

What is a cradle in the context of gold mining?

• A type of pan

• A wooden box on rockers

• A type of shovel

• A long, narrow box

What did miners create to make the process of mining go quicker?

• A shovel

• A cradle

• A pan

• A sluice

Who made more money than the average miner during the gold rush?

• Carpenters

• Blacksmiths

• Storekeepers

• Farmers

What happened to most forty-niners by the end of the gold rush?

• They became wealthy

• They went home no richer than before

• They moved to other goldfields

• They became government officials