This picture is of miners during the California Gold Rush. The method they are using to find gold in the water is called "panning". In this method, gold-seekers get rocks, sand, and such into their pan and let water run over it so they can separate the heavier materials from the lighter ones, and hopefully finding gold in the midst.
How did the California Gold Rush transform the nation?
January 24, 1848, a worker near Setter's Mill discovered a little bit of gold, in California. In 1849, 80,000 gold-seekers, known as the forty-niners, traveled to California in search for riches and gold, the start of the California Gold Rush. They began prospecting, or looking for gold. They began to mine, which was very hard work. There was very tough competition, since everyone was hoping to strike it rich. Although some did meet their fortune, most found little or no gold, and made a very small profit. There were many different ways to find gold, or mining methods; some of the most popular methods were: Placer mining, using a Sluice Box, and in mineshafts or tunnels. After the Gold Rush, California's gold production was $81 million. While the Gold Rush was taking place, "Boomtowns" sprang up near gold sites all around the state. Boomtowns were towns that would be built temporarily for miners and their families to stay at while they searched for gold. After all the gold had been mined, all the people in the boomtown moved away, in search for more gold. Therefore, most boomtowns ended up as ghost towns after the Gold Rush.
More Information and a video: http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849
This is a quote from a letter sent by S. Shufelt, one of the miners during the rush, that is now part if the Library of Congress. This particular section is describing the process of finding gold.
"It is found along the banks of the streams & in the beds of the same, & in almost every little ravine putting into the streams. And often from 10 to 50 ft. from the beds up the bank. We sometimes have to dig several feet deep before we find any, in other places all the dirt & clay will pay to wash, but generally the clay pays best. If there is no clay, then it is found down on the rock. All the lumps are found on the rock--& most of the fine gold. We tell when it will pay by trying the dirt with a pan. This is called prospecting here. If it will pay from six to 12 1/2 pr pan full, then we go to work. Some wash with cradles some with what is called a tom & various other fixings. But I like the tom best of any thing that I have seen."
To read more from his informational letter: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/californiagoldrush.htm
This is a quote from a letter sent by S. Shufelt, one of the miners during the rush, that is now part if the Library of Congress. This particular section is describing the process of finding gold.
"It is found along the banks of the streams & in the beds of the same, & in almost every little ravine putting into the streams. And often from 10 to 50 ft. from the beds up the bank. We sometimes have to dig several feet deep before we find any, in other places all the dirt & clay will pay to wash, but generally the clay pays best. If there is no clay, then it is found down on the rock. All the lumps are found on the rock--& most of the fine gold. We tell when it will pay by trying the dirt with a pan. This is called prospecting here. If it will pay from six to 12 1/2 pr pan full, then we go to work. Some wash with cradles some with what is called a tom & various other fixings. But I like the tom best of any thing that I have seen."
To read more from his informational letter: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/californiagoldrush.htm
The California Gold Rush transformed the nation by creating tension and conflict between the American settlers and Native Americans, and by creating major cities in California, born from mining boomtowns.