8.1 EXTRACTING THE FAR WEST 
    IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

    1845 - 1925

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    2. GREEN VERSUS GOLD
    • The Green Dominion
    • The Golden State
    • Co-mingling of green and gold
    3. Green Versus Gold Green Dominion
    • Organic nature: animals trees, fields
    • Trade in otter pelts, whales, hides and tallow, redwoods
    • Environmental impacts
    • Preservation and restoration of habitats and species
    Gold Dominion
    • Inorganic economy: gold, water, coal, oil
    • Market economy based on gold standard
    • Resource exploitation
    • Development of railroads and highways; malls
    4. Sea Otter Trade
    • Trade in "soft gold" Pacific coast otter pelts.
    • Vitus Bering, Danish captain for Russia, 1741.
    • John Webber, 1778 sea otter drawing. 
    5. Alexander Baranov
    • Manager of Russian America fur company, 1790 - 1818.
    • Created Alaskan empire in Sitka.
    • Formed alliance with Boston sea captain Joseph O'Cain, 1803.
    6. Russian Sea Otter Trade
    • Aleutian Alaskan natives captured otters with pronged bone spears.
    • Aleuts brought to California by Boston sea captain Joseph O'Cain for otter trade, 1803.
    7. Aleut Baidarkas
    • Aleuts forced to labor for Russians.
    • 1780s: 1 sea otter skin worth one year's income.
    • Otters gone by 1842.
    8. Fort Ross Russian Outpost, 1812
    • Hunting bases at Fort Ross, Bodega Bay, Drake's Bay, Farallon Islands, and Channel Islands to San Quintin in Baja.
    9. Green and Gold Green
    • Six biotic provinces of California
    • Green gold agriculture
    • Fertility
    • Green and golden parks: Golden Gate Park
    Gold
    • Seven states of California
    • White gold water power
    • Wealth
    • Green gold theme parks; shopping malls
    10. The Seven States of California
    • 1. Deserts: Sun, Minerals
    • 2. Sierra: Trees, Gold
    • 3. Northeast: Fire, Forests
    • 4. Northwest: Water, Trees
    • 5. Central Valley: Soils, Farms
    • 6. Central Coast: Fish, Ports, Earthquakes
    • 7. Southern California: Oil, Citrus
    11. United States Acquisitions
    • Texas, 1845; Oregon, 1846; Mexican, 1848; Gadsden, 1853
    12. American Progress
    • John Gast, 1872
    13. Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way
    • Emanuel Leutze, 1861, U.S. Capitol
    14. Gold Mines in California
    • Mother Lode: Sutter's Mill south to Mariposa.
    • Belief that a mother vein was source of all gold in region.
    15. Gold Particle
    • Bacteria accumulate gold, 0.1 mm/24 karats
    16. Gold Prospector
    • Gold found in Sierra Nevada, Cascades, and Rockies.
    • Deposits form as hot liquid gold flows into fissures and cracks in earth.
    • Eroded placer gold in streams; veins and lodes in solid rock.
    17. Perils of the Journey
    • Death Valley days.
    18. And the World Rushed In
    • Traveler's mishap.
    19. Types of Gold Mining
    • Panning, cradle, pick, sluice, hydraulicking.
    20. Discussion Questions
    • Is the "Golden State" of California a direct result of a bountiful environment?
    • Who or what are the winners and losers in California's environmental history?