The land at Malakoff Diggins State Park in California was devastated by the gold mining that started during the rush and continued until recent times. Hillsides were demolished by high-pressure nozzles called monitors that washed the top soil down into processing ponds where the metal was extracted using poisonous chemicals such as arsenic.

It may take hundreds, if not thousands, of years for the land to recover, but even today life is slowly beginning to reclaim its own.