Jan. 24, 1848, was one of the most significant dates in American history. That's when James Marshall turned up a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill near Coloma, setting off a gold rush that transformed the landscape and speeded up the march toward statehood.The gold rush continues today in the form of tourism in a region encompassing the seven counties plus the city of Folsom that we see above. Sacramento, which served as the main supply center for the Gold Rush, also counts itself a part of Gold Country. From a DogTrekker's point of view, there's lots of "gold" still to be discovered.