Assembling California and the Gold Rush

For my Mcphee book i chose Assembling California. I chose this book because i am interested in the physical landscapes of places and it is also where i am from. I grew up in the small Gold mining town of Grass Valley. In the book, there is a section about the history of the gold rush in California. Grass Valley is only mentioned once in the book which i found interesting. There are three mines that i know of in the town. My family lives on the backside of the largest and most famous one, Empire Mine. Places like Dutch Flat, Gold Run, You Bet, North Bloomfield and so on are mentioned frequently. These are all places I have been many times and are all areas surrounding Grass Valley. All have interesting mines and geological features, but nowhere is mining activities as evident as in Grass Valley. The town was founded on the mines.