Gold and mining booms Flashcards
(12 cards)
When was the California Gold Rush?
1848-49
How many people had moved to California within a few months of gold being discovered?
100,000
Where was gold found in California?
Sutter’s Mill, Coloma
Why were mining prospectors not great at establishing settlements?
They were a mobile group who moved around to where gold had just been discovered
Often scattered over inhospitable and barren regions
Where was gold discovered in 1858-59?
Colorado
Where was silver ore discovered in 1859?
Comstock Lode, Nevada
Where was gold discovered in the 1870s?
Black Hills of Dakota
Mining didn’t often create long lasting settlements. However, what city is an example of an important mining settlement?
Virginia City
How were mining companies important for settlement in the west?
Once surface metals had gone, mining companies had to use deep mining shafts and crushing mills to extract metals
Large-scale corporate mining after 1880 was the basis of long-term settlement for many of the original miners
How much was gold and silver output of Comstock Lode by 1879?
$350 million
What was the population of Virginia City by 1873 because of Comstock Lode?
20,000
What is the term for the instability of mining which led to ghost towns and lack of development?
Boom and bust cycles
