where was the first gold strike in california setting off the 1849 gold rush
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California.[1] The news of gold brought some 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad.[2] The sudden influx of immigration and gold into the money supply reinvigorated the American economy, and California became one of the few American states to go directly to statehood without first being a territory, in the Compromise of 1850. The Gold Rush had severe effects on Native Californians and resulted in a precipitous population decline from disease, genocide and starvation. By the time it ended, California had gone from a thinly populated ex-Mexican territory to the home state of the first nominee for the Republican Party.
Death Valley The valley received its English name in 1849 during the California Gold Rush. It was called Death Valley by prospectors[33] and others who sought to cross the valley on their way to the gold fields, after 13 pioneers perished from one early expedition of wagon trains.[34] During the 1850s, gold and silver were extracted in the valley. In the 1880s, borax was discovered and extracted by mule-drawn wagons.
Meek Cutoff The train continued to Wagontire Mountain, a name it later received when early settlers found a wagon tire there. Here the emigrants camped in and around what they called the “Lost Hollow.” There was water and grass but not an ample supply for the emigrants and all their livestock. As emigrants further back in the train continued to arrive, circumstances in the camp became desperate. Water quickly became scarce and many ran out of their staple supplies. In a weakened condition, more travelers became sick. Camp fever and other ailments began to overcome large numbers, especially the children and elders.[8]
Hollywood Sign The Hollywood Sign (formerly the Hollywoodland Sign) is an American cultural icon and landmark located in Los Angeles, California. It is situated on Mount Lee, in the Hollywood Hills area of the Santa Monica Mountains. The sign overlooks Hollywood, Los Angeles.