115-833: The American River is a 30-mile-long (50 km) river in California that runs from the Sierra Nevada mountain range to its confluence with the Sacramento River in downtown Sacramento . Via the Sacramento River, it is part of the San Francisco Bay watershed. This river is fed by the melting snowpack of the Sierra Nevada and its many headwaters and tributaries, including its North , Middle , and South Forks . The American River
230-477: A balanced, healthy ecosystem. Non-native, and sometimes invasive, species have been introduced to the American River ecosystem. These exotic species have no natural predators and combat with native species for sun, space, and nutrients, causing substantial problems for the native plant life and the entire bionetwork. The American River Parkway Foundation, in collaboration with Sacramento County Parks, manages
345-471: A businessman who went on to great success was Levi Strauss , who first began selling denim overalls in San Francisco in 1853. Other businessmen reaped great rewards in retail, shipping, entertainment, lodging, or transportation. Boardinghouses, food preparation, sewing, and laundry were highly profitable businesses often run by women (married, single, or widowed) who realized men would pay well for
460-483: A few years, there was an important but lesser-known surge of prospectors into far Northern California, specifically into present-day Siskiyou , Shasta and Trinity Counties . Discovery of gold nuggets at the site of present-day Yreka in 1851 brought thousands of gold-seekers up the Siskiyou Trail and throughout California's northern counties. Settlements of the gold rush era, such as Portuguese Flat on
575-633: A gold rush in the region. The Mexican–American War ended on May 30 with the ratification of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , which formally transferred California to the United States. Having sworn all concerned at the mill to secrecy, in February 1848, Sutter sent Charles Bennett to Monterey to meet with Colonel Mason, the chief U.S. official in California, to secure the mineral rights of
690-524: A large dam on the American River by the late 19th century. During the 20th century, the American River was extensively developed for flood control, hydroelectricity production and irrigation. Folsom Dam is the primary flood-control facility for Sacramento. The numerous hydroelectric dams upstream on the Middle and South Forks are not constrained by flood control requirements; rather, the needs of electricity and water supply govern their operation. Folsom Dam
805-413: A large sea; underwater volcanoes deposited lava and minerals (including gold) onto the sea floor. By tectonic forces these minerals and rocks came to the surface of the Sierra Nevada, and eroded . Water carried the exposed gold downstream and deposited it in quiet gravel beds along the sides of old rivers and streams. The forty-niners first focused their efforts on these deposits of gold. Because
920-488: A method that involved digging a shaft 6 to 13 meters (20 to 43 ft) deep into placer deposits along a stream. Tunnels were then dug in all directions to reach the richest veins of pay dirt . In the most complex placer mining, groups of prospectors would divert the water from an entire river into a sluice alongside the river and then dig for gold in the newly exposed river bottom. Modern estimates are that as much as 12 million ounces (370 t ) of gold were removed in
1035-454: A possession of the United States, but it was not a formal " territory " and did not become a state until September 9, 1850. California existed in the unusual condition of a region under military control. There was no civil legislature, executive or judicial body for the entire region. Local residents operated under a confusing and changing mixture of Mexican rules, American principles, and personal dictates. Lax enforcement of federal laws, such as
1150-410: A previously claimed site. Disputes were often handled personally and violently, and were sometimes addressed by groups of prospectors acting as arbitrators . This often led to heightened ethnic tensions. In some areas the influx of many prospectors could lead to a reduction of the existing claim size by simple pressure. Approximately four hundred million years ago, California lay at the bottom of
1265-415: A prospector, but that claim was valid only as long as it was being actively worked. Miners worked at a claim only long enough to determine its potential. If a claim was deemed as low-value—as most were—miners would abandon the site in search of a better one. In the case where a claim was abandoned or not worked upon, other miners would "claim-jump" the land. "Claim-jumping" meant that a miner began work on
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#17327654887441380-591: A safe route for colonizers across the Sierra Nevada. After a failed attempt to cross the mountains via the South Fork of the American River, Smith's group managed to cross via Ebbetts Pass on the headwaters of the Stanislaus River , becoming the first non-Natives to do so. In Smith's honor the Spanish settlers named the river Rio de los Americanos (American River). During this time, Alta California
1495-413: A service done by a woman. Brothels also brought in large profits, especially when combined with saloons and gaming houses. By 1855, the economic climate had changed dramatically. Gold could be retrieved profitably from the goldfields only by medium to large groups of workers, either in partnerships or as employees. By the mid-1850s, it was the owners of these gold-mining companies who made the money. Also,
1610-551: A sharp curve northward to descend into Tahoe Valley. The South Fork has multi-use recreational areas, including the Rubicon Trail for motorized adventuring and whitewater rafting venues. The South Fork also features the historic town of Coloma , where the California Gold Rush began in 1848. Trout fishing and recreational gold panning are popular activities on the South Fork. The Silver Fork American River
1725-624: A small gold nugget in the roots among the bulbs. He looked further and found more gold. Lopez took the gold to authorities who confirmed its worth. Lopez and others began to search for other streambeds with gold deposits in the area. They found several in the northeastern section of the forest, within present-day Ventura County . In November, some of the gold was sent to the U.S. Mint , although otherwise attracted little notice. In 1843, Lopez found gold in San Feliciano Canyon near his first discovery. Mexican miners from Sonora worked
1840-510: A small number (probably fewer than 500) traveled overland from the United States that year. Some of these "forty-eighters", as the earliest gold-seekers were sometimes called, were able to collect large amounts of easily accessible gold—in some cases, thousands of dollars worth each day. Even ordinary prospectors averaged daily gold finds worth 10 to 15 times the daily wage of a laborer on the East Coast. A person could work for six months in
1955-531: A state . At the beginning of the gold rush, there was no law regarding property rights in the goldfields and a system of "staking claims" was developed. Prospectors retrieved the gold from streams and riverbeds using simple techniques, such as panning . Although mining caused environmental harm, more sophisticated methods of gold recovery were developed and later adopted around the world. New methods of transportation developed as steamships came into regular service. By 1869, railroads were built from California to
2070-452: A threatened anadromous fish species that have historically used the American River as a location for an important part of their life cycle while in freshwater. The American River, however, has lost some of its natural flow and riverbed because of water projects and diversions. The American River Salmonid Spawning and Rearing Habitat Restoration project, which started in 2008, entails the placement of gravel to provide adequate habitat conducive to
2185-413: A tiny settlement before the rush began. When residents learned about the discovery, it at first became a ghost town of abandoned ships and businesses, but then boomed as merchants and new people arrived. The population of San Francisco increased quickly from about 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 full-time residents by 1850. Miners lived in tents, wood shanties, or deck cabins removed from abandoned ships. There
2300-604: Is 7 miles (11 km) downstream from Folsom Dam and helps to stabilize peaking power releases from Folsom Dam, and divert water into the Folsom South Canal for irrigation. Eight hydroelectric plants on the South Fork are operated by Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) as the Upper American River Project . These plants are fed by a series of reservoirs including Loon Lake , Ice House Reservoir and Union Valley Reservoir . With
2415-602: Is a 20-mile-long (32 km) tributary of the South Fork American River, that has its origin at Silver Lake The American River watershed crosses multiple climate zones due to the large range in elevations. The climate of the lower American River valley is Mediterranean and temperate grassland. Sacramento County in particular, where the main stem American River is located, is known for its cool winters and hot summers, with low average precipitation. The North, Middle and South Forks originate in alpine zones along
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#17327654887442530-558: Is known for the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma in 1848 that started the California Gold Rush and contributed to the initial large-scale settlement of California by White American migrants. Today, the river still has high quality water, and it is the main source of drinking water for Sacramento . This river is dammed extensively for irrigation, flood control , and hydroelectric power . The American River watershed supports Mediterranean, temperate, and montane ecosystems, and it
2645-416: Is that some US$ 80 million worth of California gold (equivalent to US$ 2.6 billion today) was sent to France by French prospectors and merchants. A majority of the gold went back to New York City brokerage houses. As the gold rush progressed, local banks and gold dealers issued "banknotes" or "drafts"—locally accepted paper currency—in exchange for gold, and private mints created private gold coins . With
2760-414: Is the home of a diverse array of fish and wildlife. The Maidu , Miwok , Nisenan , and Wintun peoples have inhabited the American River area near present-day Sacramento for at least 5,000 years before Spaniards and colonial Americans arrived in the region; human habitation in what some consider present-day Northern California is believed to date back as far as 12,000 years. These tribes have utilized
2875-538: Is the longest tributary of the American River, at 88 miles (142 km). It begins at an elevation of about 7,900 feet (2,400 m) near Lake Tahoe in Placer County at Mountain Meadow Lake, just northeast of Granite Chief and immediately due west of Palisades Tahoe (formerly Squaw Valley) Ski Resort . It flows westward through remote wilderness areas. The North Fork and its tributaries provides one of
2990-414: Is utilized for a variety of recreational uses. Locals and travelers alike use the river's scenic landscape for bird watching, hiking, biking, fishing, river rafting, kayaking, and more. The American River is a clean, biodiverse river that people can safely swim in and do other recreational activities in. The American River is specifically known for its whitewater rafting. The South Fork has Class III rapids,
3105-733: The Accessory Transit Company . Many gold-seekers took the overland route across the continental United States, particularly along the California Trail . Each of these routes had its own deadly hazards, from shipwreck to typhoid fever and cholera . In the early years of the rush, much of the population growth in the San Francisco area was due to steamship travel from New York City through overland portages in Nicaragua and Panama and then back up by steamship to San Francisco. While traveling, many steamships from
3220-674: The Auburn State Recreation Area . The Western States Trail hosts multiple annual endurance events, including the Tevis Cup equestrian trail ride, and the world-famous Western States 100-Mile Trail Run, both beginning at Squaw Valley and leading to Auburn via remote wilderness trails. The South Fork is 87 miles (140 km) long. It originates at Echo Summit near Echo Lake south of Lake Tahoe in El Dorado County , just south of where U.S. Route 50 makes
3335-615: The Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park . Streams terminating in various dry lakes in the Antelope Valley and Fremont Valley ( Koehn Lake , Rosamond Lake , Rogers Dry Lake and others), draining from the southeastern Tehachapi Mountains and northern San Gabriel Mountains , listed counterclockwise starting from north: California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855)
3450-565: The Compromise of 1850 . The gold rush had severe effects on Native Californians and accelerated the Native American population's decline from disease, starvation, and the California genocide . The effects of the gold rush were substantial. Whole indigenous societies were attacked and pushed off their lands by the gold-seekers, called "forty-niners" (referring to 1849, the peak year for gold rush immigration). Outside of California,
3565-614: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 , encouraged the arrival of free blacks and escaped slaves. While the treaty ending the Mexican–American War obliged the United States to honor Mexican land grants, almost all the goldfields were outside those grants. Instead, the goldfields were primarily on " public land ", meaning land formally owned by the United States government. However, there were no legal rules yet in place, and no practical enforcement mechanisms. The benefit to
American River - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-682: The Golden Gate that empty into the Pacific Ocean (arranged north to south; tributaries with those entering nearest the sea first): For details of the Sonoma and Marin coasts, see List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area . Streams that empty into San Francisco Bay or its tributary bays (arranged clockwise, starting at the north side of the Golden Gate ; tributaries are listed from those entering nearest
3795-757: The Isthmus of Panama and the steamships of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company . Australians and New Zealanders picked up the news from ships carrying Hawaiian newspapers, and thousands, infected with "gold fever", boarded ships for California. Forty-niners came from Latin America, particularly from the Mexican mining districts near Sonora and Chile. Gold-seekers and merchants from Asia, primarily from China, began arriving in 1849, at first in modest numbers to Gum San (" Gold Mountain "),
3910-496: The Middle Fork Project , whose primary reservoirs are situated at French Meadows Reservoir and Hell Hole Reservoir . The Middle Fork Project generates 1.03 billion kilowatt hours each year and also provides 120,000 acre-feet (0.15 km) of domestic water supply. The American River Parkway is a 23-mile (37 km) stretch along the American River and includes about 5,000 acres (20 km) of embankment between
4025-653: The Mokelumne Wilderness , where it meets the watersheds of the Mokelumne and Carson Rivers . Lands east of the American River watershed divide drain into Lake Tahoe , which flows into the Truckee River. During most years, a significant snow-pack builds up in the Sierra Nevada which provides water during the hot, dry summers. In warmer winters much of the precipitation may fall as rain instead, causing flooding, but resulting in lower summer flows due to
4140-561: The Nimbus Fish Hatchery and where the American River and the Sacramento River converge. The Sacramento County Regional Parks owns most of the land that is operated by the American River Parkway. This area serves the citizens of Sacramento and visitors from away with access to the river and parks, picnic areas, biking and jogging paths, trails for hiking, and habitat for fish and wildlife. Chinook Salmon are
4255-790: The Pacific Ocean southeast of Point Arguello, arranged from north to south: Tributaries entering San Diego Bay are arranged from North to South: Rivers that empty into the Gulf of California : The Carrizo Plain is a large enclosed valley near the Central Coast which drains into Soda Lake . Rivers that empty into the Salton Sea : Rivers in the Great Basin , arranged roughly north to south: Rivers draining into saline and endorheic Mono Lake in eastern California, from north and proceeding counterclockwise: Streams terminating in
4370-589: The Sacramento River , sprang into existence and then faded. The Gold Rush town of Weaverville on the Trinity River today retains the oldest continuously used Taoist temple in California, a legacy of Chinese miners who came. While there are not many Gold Rush era ghost towns still in existence, the remains of the once-bustling town of Shasta have been preserved in a California State Historic Park in Northern California. By 1850, most of
4485-476: The San Francisco Bay in 1849, only 700 were women (including those who were poor, wealthy, entrepreneurs, prostitutes, single, and married). They were of various ethnicities including Anglo-American, African-American, Hispanic , Native , European, Chinese, and Jewish. The reasons they came varied: some came with their husbands, refusing to be left behind to fend for themselves, some came because their husbands sent for them, and others came (singles and widows) for
4600-708: The Tahoe and Eldorado National Forests . The North and Middle Forks join near Auburn , and continue downstream as the North Fork, although the Middle Fork carries a higher volume of water. The North and South Forks join in Folsom Lake . All three forks are known for their verdant canyons, forested ridges, massive rock formations, trails, back-country winter adventuring among snowy peaks, fishing and white water rafting . There are various fish species that live within
4715-486: The confluence with the Middle Fork American River at Auburn . Below the confluence, the North Fork continues several miles until reaching Folsom Lake. Both the North Fork and Middle Fork feature archaeological and historic sites of ancient Native American culture and 1850s Gold Rush habitation. The Middle Fork is 62 miles (100 km) long. It originates a mere 1.7-mile (2.7 km) from
American River - Misplaced Pages Continue
4830-488: The tailrace of a lumber mill he was building for Sacramento pioneer John Sutter —known as Sutter's Mill , near Coloma on the American River . Marshall brought what he found to Sutter, and the two privately tested the metal. After the tests showed that it was gold, Sutter expressed dismay, wanting to keep the news quiet because he feared what would happen to his plans for an agricultural empire if there were
4945-403: The "first world-class gold rush," there was no easy way to get to California; forty-niners faced hardship and often death on the way. At first, most Argonauts , as they were also known, traveled by sea. From the East Coast, a sailing voyage around the tip of South America would take four to five months, and cover approximately 18,000 nautical miles (21,000 mi; 33,000 km). An alternative
5060-485: The American River include: Native plants include: Historically, the American River, like many other rivers in California, were modified by the dams of beavers, until European trappers removed many of the beavers from their native habitat for their fur. Since the California Gold Rush was centered in an area that included the American River basin, it was one of the earlier California rivers to be populated, beginning at Leidesdorff Ranch, owned by William Leidesdorff . Water
5175-521: The American River such as Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Trout. The American River headwaters lie along about 50 miles (80 km) along the Sierra Crest from Mount Lincoln in the north ( 39°17′16″N 120°19′41″W / 39.28778°N 120.32806°W / 39.28778; -120.32806 ) where it adjoins the watersheds of the South Yuba and Truckee Rivers , to Winnemucca Lake in
5290-421: The California foreign miners tax passed in 1851, targeted mainly Latino miners and kept them from making as much money as whites, who did not have any taxes imposed on them. In California most late arrivals made little or wound up losing money. Similarly, many unlucky merchants set up in settlements that disappeared, or which succumbed to one of the calamitous fires that swept the towns that sprang up. By contrast,
5405-546: The Methodist church deemed it necessary to send missionaries there to preach the gospel, as churches in that part of the state were not to be found. The first missionary to arrive was William Taylor who arrived in San Francisco in September 1849. For many months he preached in the streets to hundreds of people without salary, and ultimately after saving often generous donations from successful miners, he built and established
5520-551: The Middle Fork has Class IV rapids, and the North Fork has Class IV spring run-off rapids. All three rivers also feature Class II sections. The areas with rapids still feature scenic views and wildlife, which is what makes it the most popular whitewater rafting location in California The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued safe eating advice based on levels of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyl for fish caught from
5635-638: The Modocs . The first people to rush to the goldfields, beginning in the spring of 1848, were the residents of California themselves—primarily agriculturally oriented Americans and Europeans living in Northern California , along with Native Californians and some Californios (Spanish-speaking Californians; at the time, commonly referred to in English as simply 'Californians'). These first miners tended to be families in which everyone helped in
5750-723: The San Joaquin River during flood years when Tulare Lake overflowed. Streams are listed clockwise around the Tulare Basin, starting at the Kings River: Rivers that empty into the Pacific Ocean between the Golden Gate and Point Arguello , arranged in order from north to south. For details of the San Mateo coast, see List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area . Rivers that empty into
5865-466: The Sierra Crest and flow through subalpine, montane and temperate coniferous forests. In the foothills, oak woodland and grassland are dominant. The region is prone to seasonal drought conditions, as about 90 percent of precipitation falls as rain and snow between the months of November and April. Much of the Central Valley was historically wetlands and has extremely fertile soil; today,
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#17327654887445980-594: The South Fork. While they are not operated by SMUD, they depend on the releases from SMUD reservoirs to generate electricity. The El Dorado Irrigation District owns the Akin Powerhouse, and PG&E owns the Chili Bar Powerhouse. The Rock Creek Powerhouse is owned by Sithe Energies. The Placer County Water Agency operates five hydroelectric power plants on remote sections of the Middle Fork as
6095-547: The adventure and economic opportunities. On the trail many people died from accidents, cholera , fever, and myriad other causes, and many women became widows before even setting eyes on California. While in California, women became widows quite frequently due to mining accidents , disease, or mining disputes of their husbands. Life in the goldfields offered opportunities for women to break from their traditional work. Because of many thousands of people flooding into California at Sacramento and San Francisco and surrounding areas,
6210-663: The bays to farthest). The Central Valley watershed feeding into Suisun Bay via the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta is excluded; see the following section for the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems. For additional detail on Bay Area creeks, see List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area . Clockwise For additional detail on Bay Area creeks, see List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area . The Sacramento and San Joaquin River systems drain
6325-587: The building of the San Francisco Mint in 1854, gold bullion was turned into official United States gold coins for circulation. The gold was also later sent by California banks to U.S. national banks in exchange for national paper currency to be used in the booming California economy . The arrival of hundreds of thousands of new people in California within a few years, compared to a population of some 15,000 Europeans and Californios beforehand, had many dramatic effects. A 2017 study attributes
6440-515: The clear intent to distinguish their higher class power over those that could not afford those accommodations. Supply ships arrived in San Francisco with goods to supply the needs of the growing population. When hundreds of ships were abandoned after their crews deserted to go into the goldfields, many ships were converted to warehouses, stores, taverns, hotels, and one into a jail. As the city expanded and new places were needed on which to build, many ships were destroyed and used as landfill. Within
6555-625: The designation "Recreational River" under both the California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1972) and the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1980). This status provides state and national recognition to protect the river's outstanding scenic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, and recreational values. The American River is fed by its North, Middle, and South forks, which are located in El Dorado County , Placer County , and Sacramento County . The river's three forks originate in
6670-445: The diversity of habitats and biodiversity by supporting protected native or endemic species that are listed as endangered or threatened. The American River Conservancy protects the American River watershed to preserve the cultural and historic values of the river systems and the landscapes surround them. They are also invested in keeping the American River for recreational activities as well as its natural scenic views. The American River
6785-634: The dominant activity held throughout the steamships was gambling, which was ironic because segregation between wealth gaps was prominent throughout the ships. Everything was segregated between the rich vs. the poor. There were different levels of travel one could pay for to get to California. The cheaper steamships tended to have longer routes. In contrast, the more expensive would get passengers to California quicker. There were clear social and economic distinctions between those who traveled together, being that those who spent more money would receive accommodations that others were not allowed. They would do this with
6900-572: The easily accessible gold had been collected, and attention turned to extracting gold from more difficult locations. Faced with gold increasingly difficult to retrieve, Americans began to drive out foreigners to get at the most accessible gold that remained. The new California State Legislature passed a foreign miners tax of twenty dollars per month ($ 730 per month as of 2024), and American prospectors began organized attacks on foreign miners, particularly Latin Americans and Chinese . In addition,
7015-402: The eastern United States. At its peak, technological advances reached a point where significant financing was required, increasing the proportion of gold companies to individual miners. Gold worth tens of billions of today's US dollars was recovered, which led to great wealth for a few, though many who participated in the California gold rush earned little more than they had started with. Gold
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#17327654887447130-419: The eastern seaboard required the passengers to bring kits, which were typically full of personal belongings such as clothes, guidebooks, tools, etc. In addition to personal belongings, Argonauts were required to bring barrels full of beef, biscuits, butter, pork, rice, and salt. While on the steamships, travelers could talk to each other, smoke, fish, and other activities depending on the ship they traveled. Still,
7245-404: The effort. Women and children of all ethnicities were often found panning next to the men. Some enterprising families set up boarding houses to accommodate the influx of men; in such cases, the women often brought in steady income while their husbands searched for gold. Word of the gold rush spread slowly at first. The earliest gold-seekers were people who lived near California or people who heard
7360-537: The exception of Folsom Lake, Union Valley is the largest in the American River watershed, storing 277,000 acre-feet (0.342 km) of water. The Upper American River Project produces 1.8 billion kilowatt hours in an average year, enough for about 20 percent of Sacramento's electricity needs. The SMUD plants are run on a peaking basis, although recreational boating and environmental flow requirements constrain their operation slightly. A number of run-of-the-river hydroelectric plants are located further downstream on
7475-451: The expedition recorded the name as Rio de los Lagos (River of the Lakes) which may or may not have been an error, as in those times the area of the Central Valley surrounding the American River was home to vast marshes , which would have given the river the appearance of a series of lakes. During the 1820s, Jedediah Smith led an expedition to the American River with the goal of finding
7590-488: The first Methodist church in California, and California's first professional hospital. When the Gold Rush began, the California goldfields were peculiarly lawless places. When gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill, California was still technically part of Mexico, under American military occupation as the result of the Mexican–American War. With the signing of the treaty ending the war on February 2, 1848, California became
7705-437: The first five years of the Gold Rush. In the next stage, by 1853, hydraulic mining was used on ancient gold-bearing gravel beds on hillsides and bluffs in the goldfields. In a modern style of hydraulic mining first developed in California, and later used around the world, a high-pressure hose directed a powerful stream or jet of water at gold-bearing gravel beds. The loosened gravel and gold would then pass over sluices, with
7820-506: The first supply stores in Sacramento, Coloma, and other spots in the goldfields. Just as the rush began, he purchased all the prospecting supplies available in San Francisco and resold them at a substantial profit. Some gold-seekers made a significant amount of money. On average, half the gold-seekers made a modest profit, after taking all expenses into account; economic historians have suggested that white miners were more successful than black, Indian, or Chinese miners. However, taxes such as
7935-654: The first to arrive were from Oregon , the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), and Latin America in late 1848. Of the approximately 300,000 people who came to California during the gold rush, about half arrived by sea and half came overland on the California Trail and the California Road ; forty-niners often faced substantial hardships on the trip. While most of the newly arrived were Americans, the gold rush attracted thousands from Latin America, Europe, Australia, and China. Agriculture and ranching expanded throughout
8050-400: The forty-niners was that the gold was simply "free for the taking" at first. In the goldfields at the beginning, there was no private property, no licensing fees, and no taxes . The miners informally adapted Mexican mining law that had existed in California. For example, the rules attempted to balance the rights of early arrivers at a site with later arrivers; a " claim " could be "staked" by
8165-454: The gold in the California gravel beds was so richly concentrated, early forty-niners were able to retrieve loose gold flakes and nuggets with their hands, or simply " pan " for gold in rivers and streams. Panning cannot take place on a large scale, and industrious miners and groups of miners graduated to placer mining , using " cradles " and "rockers" or "long-toms" to process larger volumes of gravel. Miners would also engage in "coyoteing",
8280-559: The gold settling to the bottom where it was collected. By the mid-1880s, it is estimated that 11 million troy ounces (340 t) of gold (worth approximately US$ 15 billion at December 2010 prices) had been recovered by hydraulic mining. A byproduct of these extraction methods was that large amounts of gravel, silt , heavy metals , and other pollutants went into streams and rivers. Court rulings (1882 Gold Run and 1884 "Sawyer Act" ) and 1893 federal legislation limited hydraulic mining in California. As of 1999 many areas still bear
8395-440: The gold-bearing quartz. Once the gold-bearing rocks were brought to the surface, the rocks were crushed and the gold separated, either using separation in water, using its density difference from quartz sand, or by washing the sand over copper plates coated with mercury (with which gold forms an amalgam ). Loss of mercury in the amalgamation process was a source of environmental contamination . Eventually, hard-rock mining became
8510-423: The goldfields and find the equivalent of six years' wages back home. Some hoped to get rich quick and return home, and others wished to start businesses in California. By the beginning of 1849, word of the gold rush had spread around the world, and an overwhelming number of gold-seekers and merchants began to arrive from virtually every continent. The largest group of forty-niners in 1849 were Americans, arriving by
8625-659: The hills near Genoa , Italy were among the first to settle permanently in the Sierra Nevada foothills ; they brought with them traditional agricultural skills, developed to survive cold winters. A modest number of miners of African ancestry (probably less than 4,000) had come from the Southern States , the Caribbean and Brazil. A number of immigrants were from China. Several hundred Chinese arrived in California in 1849 and 1850, and in 1852 more than 20,000 landed in San Francisco. Their distinctive dress and appearance
8740-638: The huge numbers of newcomers were driving Native Americans out of their traditional hunting, fishing and food-gathering areas. To protect their homes and livelihood, some Native Americans responded by attacking the miners. This provoked counter-attacks on native villages. The Native Americans, out-gunned, were often slaughtered. Those who escaped massacres were many times unable to survive without access to their food-gathering areas, and they starved to death. Novelist and poet Joaquin Miller vividly captured one such attack in his semi-autobiographical work, Life Amongst
8855-598: The indigenous population was wiped out. The surviving natives became hostile to exploitative European settlers and traders for quite some time, and prevented the HBC from establishing a permanent outpost here. In 1839, Swiss immigrant John Sutter established the New Helvetia settlement on the American River, near the present-day location of central Sacramento. In 1848, following the Mexican–American War , California
8970-554: The invasive plants on the American River. Fourteen environmental watershed groups are shown to be active in the Upper American River Watershed by the Adopt A Watershed Program of the U.S. EPA . The Upper American River Foundation is a prominent one. There are over 40 species of native and non-native fish in the American River, including: Wildlife in the American River basin includes: Invasive plants on
9085-514: The lack of snow. Due to California's highly variable weather patterns, runoff volumes in the American River can rise and fall drastically from one year to the next. Below Folsom Dam , the river passes through an urbanized area but is buffered by a riparian park, the American River Parkway . Containing fishing and family-oriented rafting, and paved bicycling and multi-use trails, it runs 30.6 miles (49.2 km) from Folsom Lake to
9200-402: The land where the mill stood. Bennett was not to tell anyone of the discovery of gold, but when he stopped at Benicia , he heard talk about the discovery of coal near Mount Diablo, and he blurted out the discovery of gold. He continued to San Francisco, where again, he could not keep the secret. At Monterey, Mason declined to make any judgement of title to lands and mineral rights, and Bennett for
9315-511: The late 1890s, dredging technology (also invented in California) had become economical, and it is estimated that more than 20 million troy ounces (620 t) were recovered by dredging. Both during the gold rush and in the decades that followed, gold-seekers also engaged in "hard-rock" mining, extracting the gold directly from the rock that contained it (typically quartz ), usually by digging and blasting to follow and remove veins of
9430-603: The most biologically diverse habitats in North America. The North Fork features scenic multi-use trails along forested ridge-tops and riparian corridors. It flows freely as a designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers System river until reaching the North Fork Dam, which was built to contain mining debris. This dam creates the small Lake Clementine just north of the Foresthill Bridge and upstream of
9545-553: The name given to California in Chinese. The first immigrants from Europe, reeling from the effects of the Revolutions of 1848 and with a longer distance to travel, began arriving in late 1849, mostly from France, with some Germans , Italians , and Britons . It is estimated that approximately 90,000 people arrived in California in 1849—about half by land and half by sea. Of these, perhaps 50,000 to 60,000 were Americans, and
9660-504: The news from ships on the fastest sailing routes from California. The first large group of Americans to arrive were several thousand Oregonians who came down the Siskiyou Trail. Next came people from the Sandwich Islands , and several thousand Latin Americans, including people from Mexico, from Peru and from as far away as Chile, both by ship and overland. By the end of 1848, some 6,000 Argonauts had come to California. Only
9775-520: The placer deposits until 1846. Minor finds of gold in California were also made by Mission Indians prior to 1848. The friars instructed them to keep its location secret to avoid a gold rush . In January 1847, nine months into the Mexican–American War , the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed, leading to the resolution of the military conflict in Alta California (Upper California). On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall found shiny metal in
9890-467: The population and economy of California had become large and diverse enough that money could be made in a wide variety of conventional businesses. Once extracted, the gold itself took many paths. First, much of the gold was used locally to purchase food, supplies and lodging for the miners . It also went towards entertainment, which consisted of anything from a traveling theater to alcohol, gambling, and prostitutes. These transactions often took place using
10005-496: The rearing habitat for the anadromous fish and increase biodiversity of the American River. The American River Conservancy works to conserve the wildlife and their aquatic and terrestrial habitats and resources around the American River and Consumnes watersheds. They have protected over 27,000 acres (110 km) since their inception in 1989. The land they protect helps the American River water quality by conserving and restoring wet meadows , wetlands, and riparian areas. They conserve
10120-560: The recently recovered gold, carefully weighed out. These merchants and vendors, in turn, used the gold to purchase supplies from ship captains or packers bringing goods to California. The gold then left California aboard ships or mules to go to the makers of the goods from around the world. A second path was the Argonauts themselves who, having personally acquired a sufficient amount, sent the gold home, or returned home taking with them their hard-earned "diggings". For example, one estimate
10235-466: The record-long economic expansion of the United States in the recession-free period of 1841–1856 primarily to "a boom in transportation-goods investment following the discovery of gold in California." The gold rush propelled California from a sleepy, little-known backwater to a center of the global imagination and the destination of hundreds of thousands of people. The new immigrants often showed remarkable inventiveness and civic mindedness. For example, in
10350-475: The rest were from other countries. By 1855, it is estimated at least 300,000 gold-seekers, merchants, and other immigrants had arrived in California from around the world. The largest group continued to be Americans, but there were tens of thousands each of Mexicans, Chinese, Britons, Australians, French, and Latin Americans, together with many smaller groups of miners, such as African Americans, Filipinos , Basques and Turks . People from small villages in
10465-481: The river's confluence with the Sacramento River. The American River Parkway incorporates historic Leidesdorff Ranch, a 35,000-acre (140 km) cattle and wheat agribusiness owned by the "African Founding Father of California." Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail , a meandering 32-mile (51 km) cycle path, hugs the river bank from Old Sacramento to Folsom Lake . The trail was named for Smith and his men, who camped and trapped along its banks in 1828. The North Fork
10580-458: The salmonid's needs for spawning and rearing to reach a maturity level fit for the ocean. From 2008 to 2012, the placement totaled 85,880 short tons (77.91 kt) of gravel. The gravel will increase the number of fish redds, spawning nests, along the American River, which will decrease egg retention, and increase birth and survivorship rate. The project also included the introduction of small islands, loose woody debris, and larger boulders to advance
10695-517: The scars of hydraulic mining, since the resulting exposed earth and downstream gravel deposits do not support plant life. After the gold rush had concluded, gold recovery operations continued. The final stage to recover loose gold was to prospect for gold that had slowly washed down into the flat river bottoms and sandbars of California's Central Valley and other gold-bearing areas of California (such as Scott Valley in Siskiyou County). By
10810-440: The sea first). Bold indicates rivers with more detailed lists in following sections. Primary streams entering Humboldt Bay are listed north to south beginning north of the entrance to the bay and continuing in a clockwise direction. Tributaries entering nearest the bay are listed first. For additional detail on Humboldt Bay streams, see Humboldt Bay: Bay tributaries and sloughs . Rivers and streams between Humboldt Bay and
10925-476: The section of the river that flows through Sacramento County. List of rivers of California This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of California , grouped by region. Major lakes and reservoirs, if applicable, are indicated in italics. Rivers and streams between the Oregon border and Humboldt Bay that empty into the Pacific Ocean (arranged north to south; tributaries with those entering nearest
11040-521: The single largest source of gold produced in the Gold Country . The total production of gold in California from then until now is estimated at 118 million troy ounces (3,700 t). Recent scholarship confirms that merchants made far more money than miners during the gold rush. The wealthiest man in California during the early years of the rush was Samuel Brannan , a tireless self-promoter, shopkeeper and newspaper publisher. Brannan opened
11155-536: The soil. This large and extensive mining practice washed away entire mountainsides and heavily polluted all the waterways, including the American River, creating an environmental disaster for inhabitants, fish, birds, and other flora and fauna. During the Great Flood of 1862 the American River flooded massively, putting much of Sacramento under water for three months. Newly elected Governor Leland Stanford had to travel to his inauguration by rowboat; shortly after,
11270-582: The source of the North Fork on the south face of Granite Chief , between the summit and Emigrant Pass. It is characterized by somewhat broader steep canyons interspersed with reservoirs , waterfalls, and quiet riparian areas. The Middle Fork is used extensively for both motorized and non-motorized recreation, including fishing, white water rafting , bicycling (mountain and road), horseback riding, trail running and hiking. It contains areas used for hydroelectric generation, mining , and agricultural timber cultivation and harvesting. The Middle Fork features part of
11385-562: The state government moved temporarily to San Francisco. A significant contributor to the flood damage was the debris washed down by hydraulic mining, which had choked the river channel and reduced its capacity to drain floodwaters. In response, the city of Sacramento undertook a massive project to raise its streets and buildings as much as 9.5 feet (2.9 m). Many of original sidewalks and the first floors of buildings remain as subterranean spaces underneath today's streets. The lower American River has been one of seven California rivers to achieve
11500-441: The state to meet the needs of the settlers. San Francisco grew from a small settlement of about 200 residents in 1846 to a boomtown of about 36,000 by 1852. Roads, churches, schools and other towns were built throughout California. In 1849, a state constitution was written . The new constitution was adopted by referendum vote; the future state's interim first governor and legislature were chosen. In September 1850, California became
11615-621: The tens of thousands overland across the continent and along various sailing routes (the name "forty-niner" was derived from the year 1849). Many from the East Coast negotiated a crossing of the Appalachian Mountains , taking to riverboats in Pennsylvania , poling the keelboats to Missouri River wagon train assembly ports, and then traveling in a wagon train along the California Trail . Many others came by way of
11730-480: The third time revealed the gold discovery. By March 1848, rumors of the discovery were confirmed by San Francisco newspaper publisher and merchant Samuel Brannan . Brannan hurriedly set up a store to sell gold prospecting supplies, and he walked through the streets of San Francisco, holding aloft a vial of gold, shouting "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" On August 19, 1848, the New York Herald
11845-461: The vast amount of resources of the American River for shelter, clothes, baskets, and other goods. Europeans and their descendants arrived in the late 18th century. The Nisenan call the river Kum Sayo , meaning ' roundhouse river'. Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga named the river Rio de las Llagas (River of Wounds) when he passed through the area in the early 1800s, perhaps due to hostile relations with local native peoples. Another member of
11960-453: The vast majority of wetlands have been converted to agriculture or urban areas. Most of the remaining wetland, riparian and aquatic ecosystems are restricted to the narrow corridor along the American River. There is an abundance of flora and fauna found at the American River that creates an immensely bio diverse ecosystem. Native plants along the American River Parkway are adapted to a Mediterranean climate, are drought tolerant, and help support
12075-707: The western slope of the Sierra Nevada and most of the Central Valley, forming the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta before emptying into Suisun Bay; together, they are the largest river system in California. Note: In the Delta the Mokelumne River divides into two short branches, also called the "North Fork" and "South Fork", which recombine before reaching the San Joaquin River. Usually an endorheic basin, waters in this region all eventually would reach Tulare Lake . This region would overflow into
12190-473: Was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California . The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. The sudden influx of gold into the money supply reinvigorated the American economy; the sudden population increase allowed California to go rapidly to statehood in
12305-733: Was built in 1955 as a principal part of the Central Valley Project by the Army Corps of Engineers, and is operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. The concrete and earth embankment structure is more than 5 miles (8.0 km) long and creates Folsom Lake , impounding 1.1 million acre-feet (1.4 km) of water when full. The dam is a multipurpose facility that acts as a reservoir for flood control, irrigation, domestic and industrial use, as well as hydroelectric power generation, recreation, and fish and wildlife habitat. Nimbus Dam
12420-459: Was ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . Just weeks later, James W. Marshall , an employee of Sutter, discovered gold on the South Fork, starting the California Gold Rush . Although miners looking to extract gold worked all three forks of the American River, the South Fork held the richest deposits. As the easily accessible placer gold was played out, large companies used hydraulic mining to access gold buried deeper in
12535-457: Was discovered in California as early as March 9, 1842, at Rancho San Francisco , in the mountains north of present-day Los Angeles. Californian native Francisco Lopez was searching for stray horses and stopped on the bank of a small creek (in today's Placerita Canyon ), about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of present-day Newhall , and about 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Los Angeles. While the horses grazed, Lopez dug up some wild onions and found
12650-476: Was highly recognizable in the goldfields. Chinese miners suffered enormously, enduring violent racism from white miners who aimed their frustrations at foreigners. Further animosity toward the Chinese led to legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and Foreign Miners Tax. There were also women in the gold rush . However, their numbers were small. Of the 40,000 people who arrived by ship to
12765-410: Was no churches or religious services in the rapidly growing city, which prompted missionaries like William Taylor to meet the need, where he held services in the street, using a barrel head as his pulpit. Crowds would gather to listen to his sermons, and before long he received enough generous donations from successful gold miners and built San Francisco's first church. In what has been referred to as
12880-480: Was part of New Spain ; however in 1822, Mexico gained its independence from Spain and took control of California. In the 1830s, fur trappers of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) visited the area to trap beaver and otter. During one of these expeditions, smallpox or malaria were accidentally introduced to the local Native peoples, who had no immunity to European diseases. Some accounts suggest as much as 70 percent of
12995-605: Was the first major newspaper on the East Coast to report the discovery of gold. On December 5, 1848, US President James K. Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in an address to Congress . As a result, individuals seeking to benefit from the gold rush—later called the "forty-niners"—began moving to the Gold Country of California or "Mother Lode" from other countries and from other parts of the United States. As Sutter had feared, his business plans were ruined after his workers left in search of gold, and squatters took over his land and stole his crops and cattle. San Francisco had been
13110-555: Was to sail to the Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Panama , take canoes and mules for a week through the jungle, and then on the Pacific side, wait for a ship sailing for San Francisco. There was also a route across Mexico starting at Veracruz . The companies providing such transportation created vast wealth among their owners and included the U.S. Mail Steamship Company , the federally subsidized Pacific Mail Steamship Company , and
13225-428: Was used to drive grist mills . Gold miners dredged the riverbed and constructed diversion dams for hydraulic mining . Mining activity caused sediment and mercury waste to accumulate in the rivers. The Natoma Company completed its Folsom Powerhouse in 1895 and began delivering power 22 miles (35 km) away to the city of Sacramento to power a streetcar system. Major flooding of the Sacramento area led to calls for
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