Friday, June 26, 2026 · america_250

America 250 · Gold and salt and silver

5 questions · 1000 points possible. Below are the prompts, hints, and target locations from this pack.

The 1848 gold discovery at Sutter's Mill triggered the largest mass migration in U.S. history. Five places where Americans went looking for fortune underground — and built towns that lived (and died) on what they found.

Practice this pack
  1. 01

    Drop a pin on the sawmill where James Marshall found gold flakes in January 1848 — igniting the California Gold Rush.

    Coloma Road — California, United States

    Target
    38.8030°, -120.8927°
    Cap
    932 mi
    Weight
    200 pts
  2. 02

    Drop a pin on the boomtown built on the Comstock Lode — the silver strike of 1859 that bankrolled San Francisco and the Union's Civil War.

    Taylor Street — Virginia City, Nevada, United States

    Target
    39.3094°, -119.6494°
    Cap
    932 mi
    Weight
    200 pts
  3. 03

    Drop a pin on the gold-rush town that produced more gold than any other U.S. mining district — where Wild Bill Hickok was shot in 1876.

    Pioneer Way — Deadwood, South Dakota, United States

    Target
    44.3766°, -103.7295°
    Cap
    932 mi
    Weight
    200 pts
  4. 04

    Drop a pin on the boomtown that drew 100,000 stampeders during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-98.

    8th Avenue — Skagway, Alaska, United States

    Target
    59.4583°, -135.3146°
    Cap
    932 mi
    Weight
    200 pts
  5. 05

    Drop a pin on the town where Edwin Drake drilled the world's first successful commercial oil well in 1859 — birthplace of the petroleum industry.

    Overlook Drive — Titusville, Pennsylvania, United States

    Target
    41.6356°, -79.6691°
    Cap
    932 mi
    Weight
    200 pts