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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 19 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.The governor
  • B.Mexican, Chilean and Chinese miners
  • C.Miners from New York
2.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
3.Why did new towns spring up beside rivers in the Sierra Nevada foothills?
  • A.It never rained beside the rivers
  • B.The Spanish missions built them
  • C.Miners settled where gold could be found in the streams
4.Why are the gold seekers called "forty-niners"?
  • A.There were only 49 of them
  • B.They were all 49 years old
  • C.Most of them arrived in 1849
5.Why did California's population grow so quickly after 1848?
  • A.Gold drew people hoping to get rich
  • B.A railroad had just been built
  • C.Spain gave the land away
6.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
7.What happened to California's Native peoples during the Gold Rush?
  • A.Nothing changed for them
  • B.Many thousands died from violence, disease and the loss of their land
  • C.They became the richest people in the state
8.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

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.6.3-5 · Set 19 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The California Gold Rush

Set 19. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Mexican, Chilean and Chinese miners
  2. 2.At Sutter's Mill, on the American River
  3. 3.Miners settled where gold could be found in the streams
  4. 4.Most of them arrived in 1849
  5. 5.Gold drew people hoping to get rich
  6. 6.By selling food, tools and clothing to miners
  7. 7.Many thousands died from violence, disease and the loss of their land
  8. 8.They worked hard as miners and in businesses but faced unfair laws and violence

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