What were the pros and cons of the Cariboo Gold Rush?

The Cariboo Gold Rush occurred in British Columbia, Canada from 1860-1863—the same period of time when Canada's neighbor to the south (United States) was entrenched in a brutal Civil War. This period of time in British Columbia was met with much excitement and led to the establishment of new communities with booming economies in previously mostly uninhabited places, such as Richfield, Camerontown and Barkerville.

Though the establishment of these three cities led to a significant increase in commerce, the downside of this was that the boom for the gold rush only lasted about three years. By the time the gold was mostly gone, prospectors left most of the mining communities, leaving their economies in poor shape. Some of these mining communities never recovered.

Despite this, the gold rush allowed for a real infrastructure to be established in British Columbia, which included rivers, bridges, steamboat routes, and an increased government presence.