Gold Country 440357 222525670 2008-06-29T20:33:58Z SpellingBot 6773085 Familes → Families '''Gold Country''' (also '''[[Mother lode|Mother Lode]] Country''') is a region in the central-and-north-eastern part of [[California]], [[United States]]. It is famed for the [[mineral]] deposits and [[gold mine]]s which attracted waves of immigrants, known as the [[49ers]], during the 1849 [[California Gold Rush]]. ==Geography== The Gold Country is generally considered to lie along the route of [[California State Route 49|State Route 49]], stretching from [[Mariposa County]] in the south, to Sierra County in the north. It includes parts of twelve California counties: [[Amador County, California|Amador]], [[Butte County, California|Butte]], [[Calaveras County, California|Calaveras]], [[El Dorado County, California|El Dorado]], [[Mariposa County, California|Mariposa]], [[Nevada County, California|Nevada]], [[Placer County, California|Placer]], [[Sacramento County, California|Sacramento]], [[Sierra County, California|Sierra]], [[Tuolumne County, California|Tuolumne]], [[Plumas County, California|Plumas]] and [[Yuba County, California|Yuba]]. ==Geology== The Gold Country lies on the western slope of the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]], reaching down to the [[Sacramento Valley]]. The oldest geology can be found along the easternmost portions of this region, closer to the Sierra Nevada summits, and consists of ancient sea floor and portions of islands which were added onto the western edge of North America during the late Paleozoic, about 275 million years ago. The western sections of the 'Mother Lode' are significantly younger, from the mid Mesozoic, about 150 million years ago and also consist of material that was accreted from the ocean floor to the continental edge. Massive intrusions of granite forced their way into these formations, and after ten miles of overlying material was eroded over the last seventy million years, these intrusions are visible throughout the Sierra Nevadas. Over the last fifty million years, rivers and volcanoes deposited materials which lay in thick layers that can be found atop many of the high ridges of the Sierra Nevada foothills. ==Climate== For the most part, the climate in this part of California resembles that of much of Italy or Spain. Winters are cool and damp, averaging around 30 inches of rainfall and occasional snowfall, especially in the higher altitudes of the eastern reaches up the slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Winter temperatures range from the upper twenties to mid fifties. Summers are dry and hot, with long streches that reach triple digits. This region has very short periods of Autumn and Spring. ==Principal cities and towns== *[[Angels Camp, California]] *[[Auburn, California]] *[[Sonora, California]] *[[Sutter Creek, California]] *[[Jackson, California]] *[[Mariposa, California]] *[[Groveland-Big Oak Flat, California]] *[[Murphys, California]] *[[Columbia, California]] *[[Grass Valley, California]] *[[Nevada City, California]] *[[Camptonville, California]] *[[Downieville, California]] *[[Placerville, California]] *[[Coloma, California]] *[[Lotus, California]] *[[Georgetown, California]] *[[Shingle Springs, California]] *[[El Dorado, California]] *[[Folsom, California]] *[[Cameron Park, California]] *[[Pollock Pines, California]] *[[Camino, California]] *[[Rescue, California]] ==Demographics== ==Culture and politics== ==Economy== ==External links== *[http://www.calgold.org/ Gold Country Visitors Association] *[http://www.malakoff.com/goldcountry/maintcgc.htm The Virtual California Gold Country: Highway 49 Revisited Online] * Gold Country Families [http://www.goldcountryfamilies.com] *[http://www.goldcountryforum.com/ Gold Country Forum] {{California}} [[Category:California Gold Rush]] [[Category:Regions of California]] [[Category:Gold mining]] [[Category:Mining in the United States]] {{California-geo-stub}} [[fr:Gold Country]]