California has had many different groups of people in control of the land. From the native Californians, to the Spanish, to the Mexican and finally, the Americans, all the people knew that California was rich in resources and is located in a strategic place along the coast. Even the English and the Russians staked claims to land in California. Each group worked to make the area a good fit for them, and thus, much change was created by the groups.

Your job is to follow the instructions on these web pages and see if you can identify the changes made by the groups and how the American River played a huge role in our statehood. There will be a final group project to do when you have finished the sheets. Do as many sheets as you can so your group project will be good!