a person that searches for valuable minerals 2 ___. Some gold could be collected from streams but most of the ore was 3 ___.

Even though the California gold rush was over, 1 ___ raged on. This is another name for
The 4 ___, was the world’s richest deposit of silver found in Nevada.
5 ___ were towns that sprang up almost overnight near abundant resources or materials. These places were usually lawless so 6 ___ would take the law into their own hands without following the legal process. Once all the minerals or resources were used up, boomtowns were often abandoned and became 7 ___. Besides miners, 8 ___ and
9 ___ helped settle the areas in the west to help serve the growing population.

Transportation was vital to the survival of mining communities but 10 ___ and
11 ___ could not move people and goods fast enough. 12 ___ could move people and goods quicker. The US government provided railroad companies with 13 ___ and 14 ___ that ranged from 20-80 miles alongside the tracks. Railroads 15 ___ this land to help pay for construction. A 16 ___ is one that spans the whole country. America’s went from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Two different railroad companies worked on the transcontinental railroad. The 17 ___ started in Omaha Nebraska and built west, and the 18 ___ started in Sacramento, California and built east. The 19 ___ hired many Irish and African American workers, but the 20 ___ hired Chinese workers. Both railroad companies met on May 10th in 1869 at 21 ___ in the Utah Territory.

The transcontinental railroad carried 22 ___ to the west and brought 23 ___ to the east. To make train travel safer and more efficient, the American Railway Association divided the nation into four 24 ___.