A gold miner pans for gold in California, 1885. The state's gold rush only lasted a few years, but some have continued to seek gold there to this day.Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
There were already at least 4,000 gold prospectors in California, he reported. There would soon be many more. His announcement helped spark a mad dash for riches that would transform the distant American territory into the “Golden State” and leave an imprint on the national consciousness that lingers today.who came to California at the Gold Rush’s height in 1849—didn't get rich from their finds. This is their story.
For many newly minted prospectors, though, hopes of striking it rich faded quickly. Life could be hard: Miners often ate bad food and lived in crowded, shabby quarters where disease spread easily. In Sacramento, thein three weeks in 1850. The work of panning and digging for gold was hard and dirty, but wasn’t often productive. Luck was a bigger factor than effort.