This map shows some of the important mines of the gold rush. James Marshall kicked off the California gold rush when he spotted some pea-sized bits of gold in a mill raceway. The news brought ...

A Rush of Gold Seekers By 1849, the non-native population of California had grown to almost 100,000 people. Nearly two-thirds were Americans. Upon arrival in California, immigrants learned mining ...

But that's only one part of the sta gold rush story ... carrying knives while wielding mining tools. About 300,000 heavily-armed settlers descended to California to hunt for gold.