Mining Simulation
Gold Rush vocabulary activity
Here are 112 words/phrases to bolster your students’ Gold Rush vocabulary. The words/phrases have
been grouped loosely by grade level but definitely from those necessary for basic understanding to indepth learning about the Gold Rush.
This activity is a mining simulation. Use the template provided to create vocabulary “nuggets.”
Cut out the nugget templates and if you can, color/paint one side of the nuggets gold. On the other side,
place one vocabulary word/phrase with its coinciding dollar value (perhaps in pencil so that it doesn’t
show through). Place the “nuggets” with the words on the bottom. Have student “miners” select
“nuggets” in turn until all have been “discovered” and find the definition of each word/phrase on the
bottom. For each correct definition, that “miner” earns the corresponding value. Have the students
share the definitions of their words/phrases.”
If you create multiple sets, this could be a group activity instead of whole class.
For further fun, create sets where at least half of the nuggets have “fool’s gold – 1 cent” on the
bottom. This will give students some inkling of the often frustrating nature of mining during the
California Gold Rush.
Set parameters to your preference. For example, you could require each student to find/define
15 $5 words, three $10 words, one $20 word, and one $50 word. You could also have students find a
set number of words (25?) and let the luck of “mining” determine how much each student “miner”
earns.
1 cent (1)
Fool’s Gold
$5 words (46)
boundary, britches, California Trail, Chinese, claim, cradle, deposit, discovery, ditch, ethnic, fortune,
forty-niners, frontier, glitter, gold fever, gravel, immigration, James Wilson Marshall, knee-deep,
lawless, lodging, lure, millionaires, miner, minerals, mule, Native Americans, nugget, Oregon Trail,
panning, pick ax, pioneers, prairie, prospector, rattlesnake, sack, scale, shack, shaft, sift, stage coach,
stake, stampede, strike, Sutter’s Mill, tunneling.
$10 words (33)
American River, American West, bonanza, boom town, bust, Cape Horn, debris, descent,
discrimination, downstream, excavate, exploit, exposure, foil, gambling, hardship, heritage, hydraulic
mining, malaria, multi-cultural, obsession, ore, overland, placer mining, President Polk, risk, rugged,
rustic,, tailing, terrain, timber, water pressure, wilderness,
$20 words (19)
argonauts, ascent, bankruptcy, cholera, covert, dank, diversity, embedded, greenhorn, investment,
monetary, opportunist, quartz, scarcity, smelt, vein, wager, yield, zeal.
$50 words (13)
alcoholism, alluvial deposit, assayer, commodity, cut throat, mania, memorabilia, mercantile, pack
animals, sluice box, tributary, trommel, unscrupulous
California Gold Rush vocabulary definitions
1 cent (1)
Fool’s Gold – iron or copper pyrites, sometimes mistaken for gold
$5 words (46)
Boundary – something that indicates bounds or limits; a limiting or bounding line
Britches – also called “knee breeches,” these are knee-length trousers with decorations worn by men
and boys in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries
California Trail - The road to California carried over 250,000 gold-seekers and farmers to the gold
fields and rich farmlands of California during the 1840s and 1850s—the greatest mass migration in
American history
Chinese – People from China, a country in Asia
Claim – something that is claimed, especially a piece of public land for mining or other purposes
Cradle – a box on rockers for washing sand or gravel to separate gold or other heavy metal
Deposit – a natural accumulation, especially of ore or Discovery
Ditch – a long, narrow excavation in the ground for digging
Ethnic – pertaining to pertaining to or characteristic of a people, especially a group sharing a common
and distinctive culture
Fortune – wealth or riches
forty-niners - a person, especially a prospector, who went to California in 1849 during the gold rush
frontier - the land or territory that forms the furthest extent of a country's settled or inhabited regions
glitter - a sparkling reflected light or luster
gold fever - greed and excitement caused by a gold rush
gravel - small stones and pebbles, or a mixture of these with sand
immigration - the movement of non-native people into a country in order to settle there
James Wilson Marshall - the man who set the whole world heading westward with his discovery of
gold along the American River in northern California
knee-deep – reaching the knees
lawless - contrary to or without regard for the law
lodging – a temporary place to stay
lure - anything that attracts, entices, or allures
millionaires - a person whose wealth amounts to a million or more in some unit of currency, as dollars
miner – also called mineworker, a person who works in a mine, especially one producing coal or
metallic ores such as gold
minerals – an inorganic substance obtained by mining
mule - any hybrid between the donkey and the horse valued as a work animal
Native Americans - A member of the indigenous peoples of North America
Nugget - a lump of something, as of precious metal
Oregon Trail - a route used during the U.S. westward migrations, especially in the period from 1840 to
1860, starting in Missouri and ending in Oregon
Panning - to wash (gravel, sand, etc.) in a pan to separate gold or other heavy valuable metal
pick ax – a pick, especially with one end of the head pointed and the other end with a chisel edge for
cutting through roots
Pioneers - a person who is among those who first enter or settle a region
Prairie – an extensive tract of grassland or meadow
Prospector- a person who searches for the natural occurrence of gold, petroleum, etc
Rattlesnake – a reptile with poisonous potential commonly found in areas of the Gold Rush
Sack - a large bag of strong, coarsely woven material
Scale - a balance or any of various other instruments or devices for weighing
Shack – a rough cabin or shanty
Shaft - a vertical or sloping passageway leading to the surface
Sift - to separate and retain the coarse parts
stage coach - a horse-drawn coach that formerly traveled regularly over a fixed route with passengers,
parcels
stake - to mark with or as if with stakes
stampede - a sudden, frenzied rush or headlong flight of a herd of frightened animals, especially cattle
or horses
strike - to come upon or find (oil, ore, etc.) in drilling, prospecting, or the like
Sutter’s Mill - the location in California, NE of Sacramento, near which gold was discovered in 1848,
precipitating the Gold Rush of 1849
Tunneling - an approximately horizontal gallery or corridor in a mine
$10 words (33)
American River - a California waterway noted as the site of Sutter’s Mill, northwest of Placerville,
California, , where gold was found in 1848
American West - the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States
Bonanza – a rich mass of ore, as found in mining, or a source of great and sudden wealth or luck
boom town - a town that has grown very rapidly as a result of sudden prosperity
bust – to bankrupt or ruin financially
Cape Horn - a rocky headland on an island at the extreme southern tip of South America, which boats
travelling from the East Coast of America needed to pass en route to the Gold Rush
Debris - a collection of loose material derived from rocks
Descent - downward inclination or slope
Discrimination - unfair treatment of a person, racial group, minority, etc; action based on prejudice
Downstream - with or in the direction of the current of a stream
Excavate – to dig or scoop out of the earth
Exploit – to use selfishly for one’s gain
Exposure – lack of shelter from the weather
Foil – to baffle, hinder, or frustrate
Gambling - to play at any game of chance for money or other stakes
Hardship – a condition that is difficult to endure
Heritage - something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth
hydraulic mining - use of a powerful jet of water to dislodge minerals present in unconsolidated
material
malaria - an infectious disease characterized by recurring attacks of chills and fever, caused by the bite
of an anopheles mosquito
multicultural - of, pertaining to, or representing several different cultures
obsession - the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.
ore - a metal-bearing mineral or rock, or a native metal, that can be mined at a profit.
Overland – over or across land
placer mining - a form of mining in which a placer deposit is washed to separate the gold or other
valuable minerals.
President Polk – 11th U.S. president who announced the discovery of gold in California
Risk – exposure to the chance of injury or loss
Rugged - having a roughly broken, rocky, hilly, or jagged surface
Rustic - of, pertaining to, or living in the country
Tailing – the residue of mining; the by-products
Terrain - a tract of land, especially as considered with reference to its natural features
Timber – the wood of growing trees suitable for structural use
water pressure – the amount of power or strength of pumped water
wilderness – a wild and uncultivated region, as of forest or desert, uninhabited or inhabited only by
wild animals
$20 words (19)
Argonauts - a person in quest of something dangerous but rewarding; adventurer
Ascent – upward movement
Bankruptcy - utter ruin, failure, or depletion, particularly of wealth
Cholera - an acute, infectious disease characterized by profuse diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, etc.
Covert- concealed or secret
Dank – unpleasantly moist or humid
Diversity – a variety, particularly when it comes to peoples
Embedded- to surround tightly or firmly; envelop or enclose
Greenhorn – an untrained or inexperience person
Investment –money or capital used to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in
value
Monetary- of or pertaining to money
Opportunist - a person who adapts his/her actions, responses, etc, to take advantage of opportunities,
circumstances, etc
Quartz - a colorless mineral often tinted by impurities, found in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
rocks
Scarcity – insufficiency or shortness of supply
Smelt - to fuse or melt (ore) in order to separate the metal contained
Vein - any body or stratum of ore, coal, etc., clearly separated or defined
Wager – a bet
Yield – to produce
Zeal - excitement
$50 words (13)
alcoholism - a chronic disorder characterized by dependence on alcohol l
alluvial deposit - clay or silt or gravel carried by rushing streams and deposited where the stream slows
down
assayer - determination of the amount of metal, especially gold or silver, in an ore, alloy, etc.
commodity - an article of trade or commerce, especially a product as distinguished from a service
cut throat – competition in which people often use any means necessary to achieve an end
mania – excessive excitement or enthusiasm
memorabilia – momentos; souvenirs
mercantile - of or pertaining to merchants or trade; commercial
pack animal - a mule, donkey, burro, or horse bred for vigor and hardiness and used for carrying heavy
loads
sluice box - an artificial channel for conducting water, often fitted with a gate at the upper end for
regulating the flow
tributary – a stream that flows into a larger stream or body of water
trommel - a rotary, cylindrical or conical screen for sorting ore, coal, gravel, etc., according to size
unscrupulous – lacking moral direction