Wonderful primary resource on the California Gold Rush. Read actual letters and a diary--with explanatory annotations--by a prospector from 1850-1853.

[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the discovery of gold along the West Coast. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

Information about women in the California gold camps.

The California State Parks presents a brief unit on the California Gold Rush including three lessons which begin with the westward movement to California for gold, the actual process of mining for gold, then the effects of the rush on...

View a virtual tour of a real exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California that commemorates the 150th anniversary of the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848, and the frenzied rush to California of gold seekers from...

From here, access simple write-ups on the San Francisco Gold Rush. Topics covered include: "Life of a 49er," "Foreign Miners," "Law and Order," and "After the Gold Rush."

Article by Henry Sage explaining the history of California, how it became a state, and how President Polks desire to acquire California contributed to the Mexican-American War.

A rich site on the California gold rush, 1848-1858. An online exhibit traces the gold rush using primary sources, a teacher page gives lesson plans from 4-12 and a kid's page offers further online adventures. Takes a long time to load.

Audio-pictorial overview of the story of the California gold rush.

Take a look at and lend an ear for primary sources featuring the California Gold Rush. Men and women from around the world landed in the United States and flocked to the west coast in search of nuggets of gold.

During the 1930s the California Work Projects Administration surveyed traditional musical traditions in Northern California. This is a description and collection of this work.

With over four hundred original images, this site covers periods in California's history from 1600 to the 1930s. Topics covered include the geography and climate of California, early aboriginal groups, the first European explorers, the...

In this superb interactive exhibition, students explore primary resources and learn about the reasons people left their homes to search for wealth during the California Gold Rush. Van Valen, along with four other men, set out in 1849 to...

This site provides a tour through the history of natives and immigrants to the California Gold Rush area, including African American, California Indian, Chinese, and Latino.

A great site to find lesson plans, connections to state standards, and curriculum links to the California Gold Rush. Offered by the Oakland Museum of California.

This CalGoldRush.com site is an article that discusses where people came from, as well as the number of people involved in the California gold rush. The article focuses on the massive migration to California.

A four part analysis of the California Gold Rush: Gold! An Era Remembered, At Work & Play, Chasing a Dream, and A Lasting Impact.

Have students simulate the Gold Rush by panning for gold in the classroom.

Li is a 14-year-old boy from Guangdong, China, who travels to California during the Gold Rush. Read about his journey on a sailing ship from Southern China to San Francisco. Along the way experience, the sights and sounds of sea travel...

Get basic facts about the 1848 discovery of gold by John Marshall at Sutter's Mill and the subsequent Gold Rush in California and American history.

This site discusses how the California gold rush left lasting damage of the California environment. Read how the state's environment has been forever changed.

James W. Marshall's own words about discovering gold at Sutter's Mill in California in 1848.

This page has a variety of vocabulary puzzles and activities using 19 words pertaining to the Gold Rush in California. It also offers an extensive Vocabulary Word List of 286 words, and ideas for lesson plans on the topic.

Death Valley acquired its name during the California Gold Rush, but the Timbisha Shoshone inhabited the region long before. The severely hot and dry national park is packed with history, culture, incredible geology, and, believe it or...