Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos

Donner party: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As Donner-Reed party
Areas Of Involvement pioneer • Today in History—February 19: The Donner Party’s Devastating Predicament • wagon train

Photos

Donner party
Donner party
Map showing the routes of the Oregon Trail, marked in orange, and the California Trail, marked in purple, crossing the western United States from Independence, Missouri, to Portland, Oregon, and Sacramento, California. The map highlights key forts, the Rocky and Cascade mountain ranges, and major rivers along the trails, with modern state boundaries for reference.
Donner party
Snow-dusted rocky hills and pine trees at Donner Pass, with Donner Lake visible in the distance, near Truckee, California.
Donner party
A man sits among large tree stumps and fallen branches in a forest clearing at Summit Valley, California, where the Donner Party cut trees.
See All Images →