El Dorado County, California along with the population since the 1960 Winter Olympics, hosted at Squaw Valley Ski Resort in neighboring Placer County. The present-day site of El Dorado County was once home to the Maidu, Washoe, and Miwok Native American tribes, and is notable for being the site of the 1848 gold discovery that sparked the California Gold Rush. The County of El Dorado was one of California's original 27 counties created effective February 18, 1850 (the number has risen to 58 today). Its name is derived from the Spanish meaning "the gilded/golden". The final segments of the Pony Express mail route ran
Raleigh's El Dorado Expedition in case of any Spanish counterattack while his quest to find the supposed city of El Dorado was to begin. Raleigh interrogated de Berrio and was told what he knew about Manoa and El Dorado, but then tried to discourage the Englishman from continuing on his quest, but his warnings were in vain. On April 15, Raleigh set out from his base in the "Gallego" which was cut down for river travel, with a hundred men along with two wherries. They had provisions for nearly a month but they had to set out as quickly as possible - they had