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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 2 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.Where was gold found in California in January 1848?
  • A.At the Alamo
  • B.At Sutter's Mill, on the American River
  • C.At Plymouth Rock
2.When did California become a state?
  • A.In 1959
  • B.In 1850
  • C.In 1776
3.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.Nothing changed for them
  • C.They became the richest people in the state
4.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
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.Chinese immigrants came to California in large numbers in the 1850s. Which is true?
  • A.None of them stayed in America
  • B.They worked hard as miners and in businesses but faced unfair laws and violence
  • C.They were welcomed by every law
7.Why did California's population grow so quickly after 1848?
  • A.Gold drew people hoping to get rich
  • B.Spain gave the land away
  • C.A railroad had just been built
8.How did San Francisco change after gold was found?
  • A.Everyone left it
  • B.It grew from a small town to a city of tens of thousands
  • C.It stayed the same size

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.6.3-5 · Set 2 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The California Gold Rush

Set 2. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.At Sutter's Mill, on the American River
  2. 2.In 1850
  3. 3.Many thousands died from violence, disease and the loss of their land
  4. 4.By wagon across the country, or by ship around South America or across Panama
  5. 5.Most of them arrived in 1849
  6. 6.They worked hard as miners and in businesses but faced unfair laws and violence
  7. 7.Gold drew people hoping to get rich
  8. 8.It grew from a small town to a city of tens of thousands

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