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The California Gold Rush is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how gold changed where people lived, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Geo.6.3-5. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 12 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

The California Gold Rush

D2.Geo.6.3-5

NameDate

Choose the best answer.

1.In the 1850s California made miners who were not US citizens pay special taxes. Who did this hurt most?
  • A.Mexican, Chilean and Chinese miners
  • B.Miners from New York
  • C.The governor
2.Why are the gold seekers called "forty-niners"?
  • A.There were only 49 of them
  • B.Most of them arrived in 1849
  • C.They were all 49 years old
3.When did California become a state?
  • A.In 1850
  • B.In 1959
  • C.In 1776
4.Many people grew rich in the Gold Rush without finding gold. How?
  • A.By staying at home in Europe
  • B.By printing their own money
  • C.By selling food, tools and clothing to miners
5.Why did California's population grow so quickly after 1848?
  • A.Spain gave the land away
  • B.Gold drew people hoping to get rich
  • C.A railroad had just been built
6.What happened to California's Native peoples during the Gold Rush?
  • A.Many thousands died from violence, disease and the loss of their land
  • B.They became the richest people in the state
  • C.Nothing changed for them
7.Why did new towns spring up beside rivers in the Sierra Nevada foothills?
  • A.The Spanish missions built them
  • B.Miners settled where gold could be found in the streams
  • C.It never rained beside the rivers
8.Where did the gold seekers come from?
  • A.From across the United States and from countries such as Mexico, Chile and China
  • B.Only from California
  • C.Only from Spain

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.6.3-5 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The California Gold Rush

Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Mexican, Chilean and Chinese miners
  2. 2.Most of them arrived in 1849
  3. 3.In 1850
  4. 4.By selling food, tools and clothing to miners
  5. 5.Gold drew people hoping to get rich
  6. 6.Many thousands died from violence, disease and the loss of their land
  7. 7.Miners settled where gold could be found in the streams
  8. 8.From across the United States and from countries such as Mexico, Chile and China

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.6.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.