Gold Rush
Sutter's Mill aftermath
The Gold Rush, capitalized, refers to specific historical mass migrations triggered by gold discoveries—most famously the California Gold Rush of 1848–1855, but also rushes in Australia, South Africa, and the Klondike.
The term evokes images of prospectors, mining camps, and frontier chaos: My great-great-grandfather came west during the Gold Rush. (Lowercase gold rush describes any such phenomenon generically.)
1849 gold rush migrants
- CaliforniaWest coast megastate
- KlondikeYukon gold rush region
- YukonNorthwestern Canadian territory
- Sutter's Mill1848 gold discovery location
placer · panning · nuggets · miners · sluice · dredge · ore · quartz
One seeking valuable deposits
- saloonDrinking establishment, often frontier
- claimStatement of ownership or truth
- stakingRisking something valuable
- frontierEdge of settlement
shantytown · outpost · settler · mining camp · tent city · assayer · general store · mercantile
forty-niners
1849 gold rush migrants
- CaliforniaWest coast megastate
- KlondikeYukon gold rush region
- YukonNorthwestern Canadian territory
Sutter's Mill · placer · panning · nuggets · miners · sluice · dredge · ore · quartz · lode
prospector
One seeking valuable deposits
- saloonDrinking establishment, often frontier
- claimStatement of ownership or truth
- stakingRisking something valuable
frontier · shantytown · outpost · settler · mining camp · tent city · assayer · general store · mercantile · livery
nugget
Small solid lump
riches · treasure · strike · motherlode · pay dirt · bonanza · ore · vein · deposit · assay
Gold Rushbust
Failure or sculpture
economic collapse · depression · market crash · recession · poverty
Gold Rushmass exodus
Large-scale collective departure
exodus · depopulation · abandonment · ghost town · flight