James Marshall discovered a small gold nugget working outside of a nearby mill. At the worksite the next day there was an Indian shouting, Oro! (gold!). Many stories of gold were spread all around the country. Many workers all over California soon quit to search for gold in California.

The forty-niners came from all over the U.S. in search for gold. Many came from South America as well. This increased Californias population by 100,000. Only a few of the prospectors had ever mined for gold before. 80% of the prospectors were from the United States, the rest were from around the world.

Many of the towns had exotic names such as Skunk Gulch, Git-Up-and-Git, and Dry Diggings. The Forty-niners stayed and lived in mining towns or camps. Most mining towns did not have much local authority. Some times groups of prospectors would arrive at the same camp at the same time. This led to many violent arguments and disputes.

Life was not easy in the mining towns. Many miners had trouble finding gold. Only five percent of the miners were women and children. Most of the women started services for the miners, such as, cooking, supplying clothing, and supplying equipment. This sometimes made a better living than mining did.

San Francisco was a major city in the Gold Rush. Because of the Gold Rush San Francisco grew faster than any other city in the world. In 1849 the population of San Francisco was 800 and by 1850 there were more than 25,000.

Many of the immigrants of the miners were Chinese. By 1853 about 24,000 Chinese had come to California. Most Chinese did not get a U.S. citizenship. Many of the American prospectors did not welcome the Chinese. Many of the Chinese opened their own small services.

Wages remained higher in the west than in the east after the Gold Rush. California would have developed a lot slower if the Gold rush never occurred. California is still growing in agriculture and industry.