When did the California Gold Rush happen?

The California Gold Rush was sparked in January 1848 when James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter Mill in Coloma, California. News spread quickly, and by 1849 hundreds of thousands of people from across the United States and around the world flocked to California hoping to strike it rich, earning the nickname forty-niners after the year 1849. The influx transformed California almost overnight, swelling the population, accelerating its path to statehood in 1850, and turning San Francisco from a small settlement into a booming city. While a few struck it rich, most miners earned little, and merchants who sold supplies often profited more than the prospectors. The rush also had devastating effects on Native American communities and the environment. Gold production peaked in the early 1850s before gradually declining.