A. The Great Plains Wide rolling prairie of lush grass, w/ almost no bushes or trees Rain storms frequent, mostly at night Home of hundreds of thousands of buffalo Travelers learned to hunt buffalo and use as resource (hides, meat, Buffalo chips)

B. The Platte River Sluggish, shallow and only a half mile wide Tough to cross: to shallow for boats, quicksand Dry, dusty and hot along banks “Friendly” interaction w/ Native Americans before 1854

C. Rocky Mountains Trail more rugged, travel slowed to about 3 miles per hour Wagons often tipped over several times per day Wagons dismantled and all supplies unloaded to cross rivers A break in mountains was discovered in Wyoming= South Pass

D. South Pass Dry, rocky terrain of sage brush and prickly pear System of ropes and pulleys were used to get wagons up and down hills Many river crossing softened animal hooves, which wore down on rough terrain Unpredictable weather

E. Great Basin One of driest parts of the country Trail was dusty and dreary, water often unavailable and gorges often made trails impassible Had to cross Snake River: Deep and swift moving w/ rapids. Crossed on ferries made by connecting wagon beds- often capsized

F. Blue Mountains Very Steep filled with Forested terrain, pulleys and winches had to be used Health often became an issue during this leg of trip after months of travel and exposure to the elements “Mountain fevers”, sores on unwashed bodies, upset stomachs, cholera, measles and exhaustion sometimes caused kids to fall off wagons and be run over Mosquitoes, gnats, bees, flies, snakes, bears and wolves also posed risks

Columbia River Followed River to Dalles, settlement where wagon trail ended. Travelers then went by raft Swift w/ many rapids Passengers rafted while animals plodded along narrow shore Fall winds strong enough to keep rafts still despite current. Many died on river After 1846 some took Barlow Road. It climbed over Cascades, west slope very steep, forested and swampy. Can still see rope marks in trees that were used as pulleys

Willamette Valley Lush flat valley, the destination they had traveled over 2,000 miles to reach Most settled at mouth of Willamette River