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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.

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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.They were all 49 years old
  • B.There were only 49 of them
  • C.Most of them arrived in 1849
2.Many people grew rich in the Gold Rush without finding gold. How?
  • A.By staying at home in Europe
  • B.By selling food, tools and clothing to miners
  • C.By printing their own money
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.When did California become a state?
  • A.In 1776
  • B.In 1850
  • C.In 1959
5.Why did new towns spring up beside rivers in the Sierra Nevada foothills?
  • A.Miners settled where gold could be found in the streams
  • B.It never rained beside the rivers
  • C.The Spanish missions built them
6.Why did California's population grow so quickly after 1848?
  • A.Spain gave the land away
  • B.Gold drew people hoping to get rich
  • C.A railroad had just been built
7.How did San Francisco change after gold was found?
  • A.It stayed the same size
  • B.It grew from a small town to a city of tens of thousands
  • C.Everyone left it
8.Chinese immigrants came to California in large numbers in the 1850s. Which is true?
  • A.They worked hard as miners and in businesses but faced unfair laws and violence
  • B.None of them stayed in America
  • C.They were welcomed by every law

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.6.3-5 · Set 25 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The California Gold Rush

Set 25. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Most of them arrived in 1849
  2. 2.By selling food, tools and clothing to miners
  3. 3.Mexican, Chilean and Chinese miners
  4. 4.In 1850
  5. 5.Miners settled where gold could be found in the streams
  6. 6.Gold drew people hoping to get rich
  7. 7.It grew from a small town to a city of tens of thousands
  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.