California Gold Rush Quiz

What year did the California Gold Rush begin?

• 1847

• 1846

• 1849

• 1848

Who found the first flecks of gold in California?

• A Mexican citizen

• John Sutter

• Samuel Brannan

• James W. Marshall

What was the peak year of the California Gold Rush?

• 1850

• 1848

• 1855

• 1849

What was the estimated worth of gold extracted in 1849?

• $41 million

• $20 million

• $10 million

• $30 million

What was the name of the area where Samuel Brannan opened a general store?

• San Francisco

• Sutter’s Fort

• Los Angeles

• Sacramento

What did Samuel Brannan do to spread the news about gold?

• He held a town meeting

• He sent a telegram

• He ran through the streets with a bottle of gold

• He wrote a letter

What was the population of California like before the Gold Rush?

• Densely populated

• Sparsely populated

• Overpopulated

• Completely uninhabited

What was the name given to the gold-seekers who arrived in 1849?

• Miners

• Prospectors

• Gold diggers

• Forty-niners

How did the news of gold reach people across the country?

• By telegraph

• By newspaper

• By word of mouth

• By radio

What happened to San Francisco's population after the gold discovery?

• It stayed the same

• It decreased

• It doubled

• It increased