When a worker at the California settlement of New Helvetia, James Marshall, made the chance discovery of a few gold flakes in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in early 1848, little did he know it would spark a ‘gold fever’ that would grip the nation and prompt thousands of men to move cross-country to seek overnight fortunes.

The '49ers – so-called because the rush took off in 1849 – extracted billions of dollars of gold in just a handful of years, with devastating consequences for the Native American population and the California environment. The gold rush extended beyond California to its northern neighbour of Oregon, bringing more people to its shores and prompting a new settlement on the Columbia River.

The captivating history and secrets of America's Old West