Death Valley got its name in 1849 during the California gold rush. It was so named by prospectors of precious metals and those who tried to cross it on their way to the gold fields after thirteen pioneers died during one of the first wagon trips through Death Valley.
The California Gold Rush (1848-1855), or the discovery and search for golf (sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare earth minerals) began on 24th January 1848, when James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California. News of the gold brought some 300.000 people to California from the rest of the US and abroad.
