California Trail: Difference between revisions

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 Genealogy|Nebraska]] into [[Wyoming, United States Genealogy|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 Genealogy|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 Genealogy|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, United States Genealogy|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" />  

<u>'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applegate_Trail Applegate Trail]'''</u> 1846 (avoided the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty_Mile_Desert#Forty_Mile_Desert Forty Mile Desert]) by leaving the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_River Humboldt River] in [[Nevada Genealogy|Nevada]] early at present-day [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rye_Patch_State_Recreation_Area Rye Reservoir], Nevada and passing through the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Rock_Desert Black Rock Desert] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandango_Pass Fandango Pass] past [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goose_Lake_%28Oregon-California%29 Goose Lake] on to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_River_%28California%29 Lost River] and eventually the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willamette_Valley Willamette Valley] in [[Oregon Genealogy|Oregon]].  

:*[[Santa Fe Trail]] 1821-1880 from western [[Missouri Genealogy|Missouri]] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe,_New_Mexico Santa Fe, New Mexico]  

:*[[Oregon Trail]] 1820s from western [[Missouri Genealogy|Missouri]] to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willamette_Valley Willamette Valley] of [[Oregon Genealogy|Oregon]]  

:*[[California_Trail|California Trail]] 1841 from western [[Missouri Genealogy|Missouri]] to northern [[California Genealogy|California]] overlapped the [[Oregon Trail]] most of the way to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raft_River Raft River] in [[Idaho Genealogy|Idaho]]<ref name="CaTr" />  

:*[[Oregon Trail]] 1830s (and California Trail 1841) from western [[Missouri, United States Genealogy|Missouri]] were the main trunk trails. The California Trail usually split off from the [[Oregon Trail]] after the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raft_River Raft River] crossing near the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_River Snake River] in [[Idaho, United States Genealogy|Idaho]]. The California Trail headed toward northern [[California Genealogy|California]] via [[Nevada, United States Genealogy|Nevada]]. The [[Oregon Trail]] continued to follow the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_River Snake River] to [[Oregon, United States Genealogy|Oregon]] and beyond.<ref name="CaTr" />  

:*[[Cherokee Trail]] (aka Trapper's Trail) 1849 to early 1890s from Salina, [[Oklahoma Genealogy|Oklahoma]] merged with the California Trail near [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Bridger Ft. Bridger], Wyoming<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Cherokee Trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_Trail (accessed 15 July 2012).</ref>  

:*[[Central Overland Trail]] 1859 from [[Salt Lake City, Utah]] through central [[Nevada Genealogy|Nevada]] rejoined the California Trail at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparks,_Nevada Carson City, Nevada].  

Pioneers who used the California Trail were mostly Americans from the Midwest or Mid-South. Most settled in [[California, United States Genealogy|California]]. A few moved on to [[Oregon Genealogy|Oregon]]. A few may have settled along the trail before reaching California.