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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 14 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.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
2.When did California become a state?
  • A.In 1959
  • B.In 1850
  • C.In 1776
3.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
4.Many people grew rich in the Gold Rush without finding gold. How?
  • A.By printing their own money
  • B.By selling food, tools and clothing to miners
  • C.By staying at home in Europe
5.Where did the gold seekers come from?
  • A.Only from Spain
  • B.Only from California
  • C.From across the United States and from countries such as Mexico, Chile and China
6.Where was gold found in California in January 1848?
  • A.At Plymouth Rock
  • B.At the Alamo
  • C.At Sutter's Mill, on the American River
7.How did most forty-niners from the East travel to California?
  • A.By wagon across the country, or by ship around South America or across Panama
  • B.By airplane
  • C.By train across the country
8.Why did California's population grow so quickly after 1848?
  • A.A railroad had just been built
  • B.Gold drew people hoping to get rich
  • C.Spain gave the land away

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.6.3-5 · Set 14 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The California Gold Rush

Set 14. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Most of them arrived in 1849
  2. 2.In 1850
  3. 3.Mexican, Chilean and Chinese miners
  4. 4.By selling food, tools and clothing to miners
  5. 5.From across the United States and from countries such as Mexico, Chile and China
  6. 6.At Sutter's Mill, on the American River
  7. 7.By wagon across the country, or by ship around South America or across Panama
  8. 8.Gold drew people hoping to get rich

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