<P> On August 19, 1848, the New York Herald was the first major newspaper on the East Coast to report the discovery of gold . On December 5, 1848, US President James Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in an address to Congress . As a result, individuals seeking to benefit from the gold rush--later called the "forty - niners"--began moving to the Gold Country of California or "Mother Lode" from other countries and from other parts of the United States . As Sutter had feared, his business plans were ruined after his workers left in search of gold, and squatters took over his land and stole his crops and cattle . </P> <P> San Francisco had been a tiny settlement before the rush began . When residents learned about the discovery, it at first became a ghost town of abandoned ships and businesses, but then boomed as merchants and new people arrived . The population of San Francisco increased quickly from about 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 full - time residents by 1850 . Miners lived in tents, wood shanties, or deck cabins removed from abandoned ships . </P> <P> In what has been referred to as the "first world - class gold rush," there was no easy way to get to California; forty - niners faced hardship and often death on the way . At first, most Argonauts, as they were also known, traveled by sea . From the East Coast, a sailing voyage around the tip of South America would take five to eight months, and cover approximately 18,000 nautical miles (33,000 kilometres). An alternative was to sail to the Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Panama, take canoes and mules for a week through the jungle, and then on the Pacific side, wait for a ship sailing for San Francisco . There was also a route across Mexico starting at Veracruz . Many gold - seekers took the overland route across the continental United States, particularly along the California Trail . Each of these routes had its own deadly hazards, from shipwreck to typhoid fever and cholera . </P> <P> Supply ships arrived in San Francisco with goods to supply the needs of the growing population . When hundreds of ships were abandoned after their crews deserted into go to the goldfields, many ships were converted to warehouses, stores, taverns, hotels, and one into a jail . As the city expanded and new places were needed on which to build, many ships were destroyed and used as landfill . </P>

What were the 3 routes to california during the gold rush
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