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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 20 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 did California's population grow so quickly after 1848?
  • A.Spain gave the land away
  • B.A railroad had just been built
  • C.Gold drew people hoping to get rich
2.Where did the gold seekers come from?
  • A.Only from California
  • B.From across the United States and from countries such as Mexico, Chile and China
  • C.Only from Spain
3.Many people grew rich in the Gold Rush without finding gold. How?
  • A.By printing their own money
  • B.By staying at home in Europe
  • C.By selling food, tools and clothing to miners
4.When did California become a state?
  • A.In 1959
  • B.In 1850
  • C.In 1776
5.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
6.Why are the gold seekers called "forty-niners"?
  • A.They were all 49 years old
  • B.There were only 49 of them
  • C.Most of them arrived in 1849
7.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
8.How did San Francisco change after gold was found?
  • A.It grew from a small town to a city of tens of thousands
  • B.Everyone left it
  • C.It stayed the same size

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.6.3-5 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The California Gold Rush

Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.

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