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California Trail: Difference between revisions
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Two of the most popular early outfitting or "jumping off points" were [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence,_Missouri Independence] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph,_Missouri St. Joseph] in western [[Missouri|Missouri]]. Once the river was dredged and steamboats could reach it in the early 1850s, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_Bluffs,_Iowa Council Bluffs, Iowa] became the most popular California Trail starting place.<ref name="EmigTr">Wikipedia contributors, "Emigrant trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emigrant_trail (accessed 15 July 2012).</ref> [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri Kansas City], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence,_Kansas Lawrence], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topeka,_Kansas Topeka] in [[Kansas|Kansas]] were also used. From their starting point emigrants often followed the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_River Missouri River] up to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platte_River Platte River]. Another option was to follow the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_River Kansas River] and then the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Blue_River_%28Kansas/Nebraska%29 Little Blue River] toward the Platte River.<ref name="OrTr" /> | Two of the most popular early outfitting or "jumping off points" were [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence,_Missouri Independence] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph,_Missouri St. Joseph] in western [[Missouri|Missouri]]. Once the river was dredged and steamboats could reach it in the early 1850s, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_Bluffs,_Iowa Council Bluffs, Iowa] became the most popular California Trail starting place.<ref name="EmigTr">Wikipedia contributors, "Emigrant trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emigrant_trail (accessed 15 July 2012).</ref> [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri Kansas City], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence,_Kansas Lawrence], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topeka,_Kansas Topeka] in [[Kansas|Kansas]] were also used. From their starting point emigrants often followed the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_River Missouri River] up to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platte_River Platte River]. Another option was to follow the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_River Kansas River] and then the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Blue_River_%28Kansas/Nebraska%29 Little Blue River] toward the Platte River.<ref name="OrTr" /> | ||
Livestock needed watering so the California Trail followed rivers across the dry [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains prairies]. The California Trail usually followed the south side of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Platte_River North Platte River] west through [[Nebraska|Nebraska]] into [[Wyoming]]. Near Casper, Wyoming California Trail emigrants followed the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetwater_River_%28Wyoming%29 Sweetwater River] farther west. An important goal was to reach [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Rock_%28Wyoming%29 Independence Rock] on the Sweetwater River by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_%28United_States%29 Independence Day]. The trail went over [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pass South Pass] then worked its way through the mountains. One [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublette_Cutoff#Sublette-Greenwood_Cutoff shortcut] went from South Pass due west toward [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hall Fort Hall]. The main trail from South Pass headed southwest to cross the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_River_%28Utah%29 Green River] at [http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/trailsdemo/lombard_ferry.htm Lombard Ferry], headed for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Bridger Fort Bridger]. At Fort Bridger the [[Mormon Trail]] branched southwest toward [[Salt Lake City, Utah|Salt Lake City]].<ref name="MorTr">Wikipedia contributors, "Mormon Trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Trail (accessed 15 July 2012).</ref> The main California Trail went northwest from Bridger to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hall Fort Hall, Idaho]. From the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raft_River Raft River] southwest of Fort Hall most | Livestock needed watering so the California Trail followed rivers across the dry [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains prairies]. The California Trail usually followed the south side of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Platte_River North Platte River] west through [[Nebraska|Nebraska]] into [[Wyoming]]. Near Casper, Wyoming California Trail emigrants followed the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetwater_River_%28Wyoming%29 Sweetwater River] farther west. An important goal was to reach [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Rock_%28Wyoming%29 Independence Rock] on the Sweetwater River by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_%28United_States%29 Independence Day]. The trail went over [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pass South Pass] then worked its way through the mountains. One [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublette_Cutoff#Sublette-Greenwood_Cutoff shortcut] went from South Pass due west toward [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hall Fort Hall]. The main trail from South Pass headed southwest to cross the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_River_%28Utah%29 Green River] at [http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/trailsdemo/lombard_ferry.htm Lombard Ferry], headed for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Bridger Fort Bridger]. At Fort Bridger the [[Mormon Trail]] branched southwest toward [[Salt Lake City, Utah|Salt Lake City]].<ref name="MorTr">Wikipedia contributors, "Mormon Trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Trail (accessed 15 July 2012).</ref> The main California Trail went northwest from Bridger to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hall Fort Hall, Idaho]. From the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raft_River Raft River] southwest of Fort Hall most '''''California Trail emigrants''''' forked southwest past the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Rocks_National_Reserve City of Rocks, Idaho] toward [[Nevada|Nevada]],<ref name="CaTr" /> while '''''Oregon Trail followers''''' continued along the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_River Snake River] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Boise Fort Boise] and the [[Oregon|Oregon]] border. The California Trail followers who opted to go through Salt Lake City often rejoined the main trail at the City of Rocks. In [[Nevada|Nevada]] the trail followed the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_River Humboldt River] westward to its end. The next stage of the journey was usually considered the worst--southwest across the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty_Mile_Desert#Forty_Mile_Desert Forty Mile Desert] to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truckee_River Truckee River] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carson_River Carson River] in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_%28U.S.%29 Sierra Nevada].<ref name="CaTr" /> | ||
'''Trails over the mountains to the gold fields:'''<ref name="CaTr" /> | '''Trails over the mountains to the gold fields:'''<ref name="CaTr" /> | ||