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California Gold Rush

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Environmental Impact: California Gold Rush
The Gold Rush of Yesterday and Its Effect on the Environment Today The California Gold Rush of 1848 produced more than a just a fever for the fortune seekers. It also produced an impact upon the environment whose effects can still be witnessed today. In 1848 the call went out across the nation, there is gold in Sutter’s Mill. As the word spread settlers and immigrants began their long treks across the plains and from far foreign lands across the seas to California. Up until the discovery of gold, much of the Californian lands had been unsettled. Between the years 1848 and 1866 some 350,000 emigrants had traveled to California in search of their fortune.1 This massive influx of such a vast number of people placed a huge burden upon the land and resulted in the dishevel of its indigenous people. As the population rapidly increased so did the need for food, water, and shelter. The requirements placed upon the land by its new population were great. The natural wildlife of the area was quickly over hunted for their meat and furs. The rivers were over fished and huge forests were clear cut to provide the demand of construction materials in support of structures and dwelling. In the lower lands trees were cut to clear land needed for farming and to provide fuel material to the mines. Natural water ways were redirected and damned to support the mining efforts. These changes only further exasperated the dwindling fish and fresh water supply. The redirection of these waterways in some cases forever changed the flow of rivers and streams adding to eroding the country’s soil. During this time farmers were either leaving their crops to rot and spoil leaving to the mines or they over cultivated the land while introducing plant life not normally supported by the region. In response to the diminishing wildlife,

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