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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 18 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.How did San Francisco change after gold was found?
  • A.It grew from a small town to a city of tens of thousands
  • B.It stayed the same size
  • C.Everyone left it
2.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
3.Chinese immigrants came to California in large numbers in the 1850s. Which is true?
  • A.They were welcomed by every law
  • B.They worked hard as miners and in businesses but faced unfair laws and violence
  • C.None of them stayed in America
4.Where was gold found in California in January 1848?
  • A.At Sutter's Mill, on the American River
  • B.At Plymouth Rock
  • C.At the Alamo
5.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
6.In the 1850s California made miners who were not US citizens pay special taxes. Who did this hurt most?
  • A.The governor
  • B.Miners from New York
  • C.Mexican, Chilean and Chinese miners
7.How did most forty-niners from the East travel to California?
  • A.By airplane
  • B.By train across the country
  • C.By wagon across the country, or by ship around South America or across Panama
8.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

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.6.3-5 · Set 18 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The California Gold Rush

Set 18. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.It grew from a small town to a city of tens of thousands
  2. 2.From across the United States and from countries such as Mexico, Chile and China
  3. 3.They worked hard as miners and in businesses but faced unfair laws and violence
  4. 4.At Sutter's Mill, on the American River
  5. 5.Most of them arrived in 1849
  6. 6.Mexican, Chilean and Chinese miners
  7. 7.By wagon across the country, or by ship around South America or across Panama
  8. 8.By selling food, tools and clothing to miners

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