What was the Oregon Trail?

The Oregon Trail was a 2,000-mile overland route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, near present-day Portland, Oregon. It served as a primary path for emigrants heading west in the United States during the 19th century from the early 1840s through the 1860s. As pioneers traveled the Oregon Trail, they faced many hazards . Accidents involving firearms, animals, and wagons were common, as were drownings and hypothermia. Unsanitary conditions led to the spread of diseases such as cholera, which caused the most deaths overall.

Why did people travel on the Oregon Trail?

Driven by the idea of Manifest Destiny, from the mid-1840s to the late 1860s, an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 emigrants traveled the Oregon Trail . Reasons for traveling the Oregon Trail: * The West represented the future, while the East represented the past. * The prospect of fertile land in Oregon's Willamette Valley * The possibility of finding riches in California's goldfields * To escape economic hardship, especially after the panic of the late 1830s * To avoid the American Civil War after 1860 * Pioneering spirit

When was the Oregon Trail most commonly used?

The Oregon Trail was most heavily used from the mid-1840s to the late 1860s. It is estimated that during this time, some 300,000 to 400,000 people traveled the trail, with possibly half a million using it overall. The trail stretched approximately 2,000 miles from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, near present-day Portland, Oregon. The journey typically took four to five months to complete, with travelers covering an average of 15 to 20 miles per day.

What challenges did travelers face on the Oregon Trail?

The Oregon Trail presented significant challenges to travelers during its peak use from the mid-1840s to the late 1860s. Covering an average of 15 to 20 miles a day, the journey typically took four to five months. Accidents and disease were the greatest threats to life along the trail. Wagon accidents, especially involving children falling under the wheels, were common. Diseases such as cholera, spread by contaminated water, and diphtheria, the biggest killer of children, took a heavy toll due to limited sanitation and poor water quality. Weather also posed a threat. Prairie thunderstorms could demolish wagons, and delays were typical when rivers and streams flooded. The climate was colder than it is today, and travelers often encountered snow.

What kinds of supplies did people bring on the journey?

When emigrants traveled the Oregon Trail in the mid-1840s to the late 1860s, guidebooks recommended they carry flour, sugar, salt, coffee, tea, baking soda, bacon, dried beans and fruit, cornmeal, and rice. They often brought milk cows for fresh milk, using the constant jolting of the wagon to churn butter. Each family typically carried a water keg and a Dutch oven. Emigrants also supplemented their food supplies with the ample game on the Great Plains and, in summer, with greens and wild berries. Buffalo roamed the plains in herds, providing fresh meat. Travelers also obtained jackrabbits, deer, bighorn sheep, ducks, sage hens, grouse, and fish.

How did the Oregon Trail impact the development of the United States?

The Oregon Trail significantly shaped the development of the United States by enabling westward expansion. From the early 1840s through the 1860s, it served as the primary route for an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 emigrants journeying to the American Northwest. The Oregon Trail facilitated the settlement of the American West, molding and unifying the country. Pioneers traveled the 2,000-mile route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, in pursuit of new opportunities. This mass movement west was driven by the concept of Manifest Destiny, economic opportunities, and the desire to escape hardship.

Oregon Trail

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Map showing the route of the Oregon Trail as a dotted purple line running from Independence, Missouri, through present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and ending in Oregon. The map includes modern state boundaries, major rivers, mountain ranges, and significant landmarks or forts along the trail, as well as the Continental Divide marked with a dashed green line.

Traveling the Oregon Trail: Diphtheria, dysentery, and other dangers

Wide river flowing between banks lined with trees in autumn foliage, with distant hills and a clear sky in the background, North Platte River, Wyoming.

Eagle Rock rises steeply in the background at Scotts Bluff National Monument, Nebraska, with two covered wagons on grassy ground in the foreground.

At a Glance

Oregon Trail summary

Quick Facts

Also called:: Oregon-California Trail

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Oregon Trail

historical trail, United States

Written by

William E. Hill

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

History

Top Questions

What was the Oregon Trail?
The Oregon Trail was a 2,000-mile overland route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, near present-day Portland, Oregon. It served as a primary path for emigrants heading west in the United States during the 19th century from the early 1840s through the 1860s.

As pioneers traveled the Oregon Trail, they faced many hazards. Accidents involving firearms, animals, and wagons were common, as were drownings and hypothermia. Unsanitary conditions led to the spread of diseases such as cholera, which caused the most deaths overall.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Oregon Trail
2. How Long Was the Oregon Trail?
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why did people travel on the Oregon Trail?
Driven by the idea of Manifest Destiny, from the mid-1840s to the late 1860s, an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 emigrants traveled the Oregon Trail.

Reasons for traveling the Oregon Trail:
* The West represented the future, while the East represented the past.
* The prospect of fertile land in Oregon's Willamette Valley
* The possibility of finding riches in California's goldfields
* To escape economic hardship, especially after the panic of the late 1830s
* To avoid the American Civil War after 1860
* Pioneering spirit
5 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
When was the Oregon Trail most commonly used?
The Oregon Trail was most heavily used from the mid-1840s to the late 1860s. It is estimated that during this time, some 300,000 to 400,000 people traveled the trail, with possibly half a million using it overall. The trail stretched approximately 2,000 miles from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, near present-day Portland, Oregon. The journey typically took four to five months to complete, with travelers covering an average of 15 to 20 miles per day.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Oregon Trail: Hazards of the journey
2. How Long Was the Oregon Trail?
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What challenges did travelers face on the Oregon Trail?
The Oregon Trail presented significant challenges to travelers during its peak use from the mid-1840s to the late 1860s. Covering an average of 15 to 20 miles a day, the journey typically took four to five months.

Accidents and disease were the greatest threats to life along the trail. Wagon accidents, especially involving children falling under the wheels, were common. Diseases such as cholera, spread by contaminated water, and diphtheria, the biggest killer of children, took a heavy toll due to limited sanitation and poor water quality.

Weather also posed a threat. Prairie thunderstorms could demolish wagons, and delays were typical when rivers and streams flooded. The climate was colder than it is today, and travelers often encountered snow.
1 Britannica Source
1. Oregon Trail: Hazards of the journey
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What kinds of supplies did people bring on the journey?
When emigrants traveled the Oregon Trail in the mid-1840s to the late 1860s, guidebooks recommended they carry flour, sugar, salt, coffee, tea, baking soda, bacon, dried beans and fruit, cornmeal, and rice. They often brought milk cows for fresh milk, using the constant jolting of the wagon to churn butter. Each family typically carried a water keg and a Dutch oven.

Emigrants also supplemented their food supplies with the ample game on the Great Plains and, in summer, with greens and wild berries. Buffalo roamed the plains in herds, providing fresh meat. Travelers also obtained jackrabbits, deer, bighorn sheep, ducks, sage hens, grouse, and fish.
1 Britannica Source
1. Oregon Trail: Wagons
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did the Oregon Trail impact the development of the United States?
The Oregon Trail significantly shaped the development of the United States by enabling westward expansion. From the early 1840s through the 1860s, it served as the primary route for an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 emigrants journeying to the American Northwest.

The Oregon Trail facilitated the settlement of the American West, molding and unifying the country. Pioneers traveled the 2,000-mile route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, in pursuit of new opportunities. This mass movement west was driven by the concept of Manifest Destiny, economic opportunities, and the desire to escape hardship.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Oregon Trail
2. How Long Was the Oregon Trail?
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Oregon Trail, in U.S. history, an overland trail between Independence, Missouri, and Oregon City, near present-day Portland, Oregon, in the Willamette River valley. It was one of the two main emigrant routes to the American West in the 19th century, the other being the southerly Santa Fe Trail from Independence to Santa Fe (now in New Mexico). In addition, branches from each main trail provided connections to destinations in California, and a spur of the northerly Oregon route, part of the Oregon Trail, led to the Great Salt Lake region of what is now northern Utah.

The Oregon Trail, which stretched for about 2,000 miles (3,200 km), flourished as the main means for hundreds of thousands of emigrants to reach the Northwest from the early 1840s through the 1860s. It crossed varied and often difficult terrain that included large territories occupied by Native Americans. From Independence it first traversed the vast prairie grasslands of present-day northeastern Kansas and southern Nebraska, there following the Platte River. Skirting the southern end of the Sand Hills, it continued along the North Platte River (a major tributary of the Platte) into much drier and increasingly rugged lands in what is now southern Wyoming. There, leaving the river, it crossed its first mountain ranges before heading across the arid and desolate Great Divide Basin.

In southwestern Wyoming, after having run largely westward for hundreds of miles, the route trended generally to the northwest as it traversed more mountains and then followed the relatively level plain of the Snake River in what is now southern Idaho. Entering the northeastern corner of present-day Oregon, the trail crossed the Blue Mountains before reaching the lower Columbia River. From there travelers could float downstream or, after 1846, go overland through the Cascade Range to the trail’s western terminus in the fertile Willamette valley situated between the Cascades and the Coast Ranges to the west.

Background

Early trailblazers

Fort AstoriaDepiction of Fort Astoria (now Astoria, Oregon) in 1813, at the mouth of the Columbia River.

Portions of what was to become the Oregon Trail were first used by trappers, fur traders, and missionaries (c. 1811–40) who traveled on foot and horseback. Until the trail’s development as a wagon route, however, people of European descent (whites) in eastern North America who wished to travel to California or Oregon generally went by ship around the southern tip of South America, an arduous and often harrowing sea journey that could take nearly a year to complete. Thus, before the turn of the 19th century few whites had ventured into the vast territory west of the Mississippi River that came to be included in the U.S. government’s 1802 Louisiana Purchase. One of those was the French Canadian trapper and explorer Toussaint Charbonneau. He and Shoshone wife Sacagawea were instrumental members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–06), the government’s first attempt to systematically explore, map, and report on its newly acquired lands and the Oregon country that lay beyond them.

In 1810 fur entrepreneur John Jacob Astor organized an expedition of frontiersmen to head westward and establish a trading post for his American Fur Company in Oregon. The men followed the Missouri River upstream from St. Louis to Arikara Indian villages in what is now South Dakota and then struck out on the difficult trek across the plains and mountains through Wyoming and Idaho to Oregon. There they, and another group that had sailed there by ship, established in 1812 Fort Astoria (now Astoria, Oregon) near the mouth of the Columbia River, the first American-owned settlement on the Pacific Ocean coast and what the company hoped would be the major post from which Astor would conduct trade with China.

Astor’s expedition, in dire need of supplies and help, sent members back east in 1812. During that journey Robert Stuart and his companions discovered the South Pass in southwestern Wyoming, a 20-mile (32-km) gap in the Rocky Mountains that offered the lowest (and easiest) crossing of the Continental Divide. (Lewis and Clark, unaware of the pass, had crossed the divide at a more treacherous spot farther to the north.) Astor’s venture foundered, however, when the British took over his post in 1813 during the War of 1812, and he sold his operation there to the North West Company (then a rival of the Hudson’s Bay Company, the dominant fur traders in the Northwest and Canada).

Despite Stuart’s detailed account of the Astor expedition, the South Pass remained largely ignored. In 1806 Zebulon Montgomery Pike, after exploring the Great Plains region, had famously called the West the Great American Desert, a judgment given even wider publicity by Stephen H. Long after he led an expedition to the southern Great Plains in 1819–20. For some years thereafter an American public that initially had been thrilled by the reports of Lewis and Clark became swayed against the West. Not until trappers Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick rediscovered the pass in 1824 did that critical route through the mountains became widely known.

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Oregon Trail

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Background

Early trailblazers