This ardour gave rise to the persistent story of a city of gold over the years. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Europeans thought that El Dorado, a location of vast wealth, was someplace in the New World. They called it "the city of gold." Now, there is no such place as El Dorado, but there is a town in northern Colombia called Panamá which is very rich in gold. This is what caused all these stories about a city of gold being somewhere in the New World. After the Spanish colonization of the Americas, many tales emerged about a city of gold hidden in the wilds of North America. Some said it was located in the Appalachian Mountains, but the majority believed it was in South America. The term "city of gold" came from the fact that much of this gold was found in deposits near rivers with clear waters, like the color of gold. So, they called this region "the city of gold because of all the sunshine when it's not rain that makes those rivers flow. Today, most people know that reference is made to the place where gold can be found in large quantities, but at first glance this territory seemed completely deserted to Europeans. Actually, it was full of indigenous people who were very afraid of the newcomers.