Question

n 1849, approximately 40,000 people poured in to California from one sea route or another. Most of these came to the port of San Francisco, once known as Yerba Buena, and the tiny town boomed.

Another 25,000 to 30,000 men, women, and children followed land routes, while a few thousand more came across Mexico and the southwestern corner of the United States to reach California.

—adapted from "The Forty Niners," Library of Congress

The information in the passage best describes
A.
one of the least known migratory events in U.S. history.
B.
the results of migration based on religious beliefs.
C.
one of the largest migratory events in U.S. history.
D.
the results of migration based on a desire for farmland.

Answer 1

C

The passage describes tens of thousands of people (roughly 65,000–70,000 or more) coming to California in 1849 — part of the massive Gold Rush migration, one of the largest migratory events in U.S. history.