Not surprisingly, gold is the official mineral of
the Golden State. Treasured because of its scarcity, beauty, softness,
and malleability, gold has been valued throughout the ages.
The origins of California gold stretch back through
the mists of geologic time to the very creation of California. According
to the theory of plate tectonics, the subduction of the Pacific Plate
beneath the western edge of the North American Plate generated enormous
heat. Within this molten crucible, metal-rich compounds dissolved
into solutions that were injected into fissures of rocks being formed
above. Thousands of veins of gold thus were created in the granite
core of California's primordial mountains. Over eons of time, erosion
tore lose tiny particles of gold and washed them into rivers and
streams, where they lodged on sandbars or behind stones. There most
of the particles lay undisturbed until their widely publicized discovery
on January 24, 1848.
As news of the gold discovery spread, newcomers
came to California from across the country and around the world.
Between 1848 and 1854,
the peak year of production, miners harvested nearly $350 million
in gold. The gold rush was the foundation for the economic history
of California, and for much of its social, cultural, and political
history as well.
