How might the history of california have been different if the gold rush had not happened

California wouldn't be diverse, it wouldn't be unique, there would be no other people from other countries. And we would be broke.

Because of the mountainous terrain the settlers had to cross to reach the Pacific Coast, it would not have developed very quickly. There probably would have been no great push for the railroad to have been built and the ethnic mix would be somewhat different than it is now. The Anglo-Saxons were outnumbered by Spanish speaking natives and the Native American Indians. The culture wouldn't have been as up to date as the East coast because they regularly saw what was new from England. Without the gold rush, the towns would have been more peaceful, less Friday night drunkenness and shootings. I think people would have been more trusting.