The main argument of the lecturer is how the gold rush in 1849 made a huge impact on California’s industry, growth, and environment. Although the gold rush brought opportunities, entrepreneurship, and industry, it made huge damage to the environment as well. A huge majority of gold was first discovered was in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and they are considered young mountains, according to geography. People came from all over the country with dreams of becoming rich. Miners did not only mine for gold, but also quartz that is embedded in the gold. For the first few years, it was easy to mine and separate gold from streams, however as time went on ,it became harder and harder to find larger amounts of gold. Rocks eroded and gold would run down