On the morning of Jan. 24, 1848, James Marshall made a discovery that would forever change the trajectory of California. In a creek near the town of Coloma, a remote community wedged in the foothills ...

HOLD THE pan with two hands, explains “Nugget” Nick Prebalick. Then swish the dirt around. It’s a balmy day in Jamestown, in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, and the ...

Now don’t go all weak at the knees and soft in the head when you read this: Gold! In the Mojave Desert! It’s a gold rushlet so far: lots of wishful thinking that half-forgotten old mines still have ...