How Long Was The Santa Fe Trail? - Fixanswer

Covering approximately 800 miles, the Santa Fe Trail extends from

Independence, Missouri to present day Santa Fe, New Mexico

. The Trail originally began in Franklin, Missouri, but the trail head was moved to Fort Osage and, by 1827, to Independence.

How many miles was the California Trail?

This was the greatest mass migration in American history. Crossing 10 States, the entire California National Historic Trail system spans approximately

5,665 miles

. About 1,100 miles of trail still have obvious remains on the ground such as trail ruts and other remnants, many on public lands.

How long is the Old Spanish Trail?

The Old Spanish Trail is an historical trade route that connected the northern New Mexico settlements of (or near) Santa Fe, New Mexico with those of Los Angeles, California and southern California.

Approximately 700 mi (1,100 km)

long, the trail ran through areas of high mountains, arid deserts, and deep canyons.

What state did the Santa Fe Trail end?

In 1987, after a lengthy application and documentation process, a state commission gave

El Monte state

historical landmark status as the end of the Santa Fe Trail.

Why was the Santa Fe Trail used?

The Santa Fe Trail (aka, Santa Fe Road) was an ancient passageway used regularly after 1821 by merchant-traders from Missouri who took manufactured goods to Santa Fe

to exchange for furs and other items available there

. Mexican traders also provided caravans going to western Missouri in this international trade.

What food did they eat on the Santa Fe Trail?

For Western Indian tribes, food staples included

cornmeal, sunflower-seed meal, acorns, and deer, buffalo and dog

, he says. Indian delicacies included buffalo hide shavings cooked with chokecherries.

Can I drive the Santa Fe Trail?

Car.

You can reach most trail sites by auto or bicycle, or on foot

. Some sites are along unpaved roads. A family of road signs has been initiated across the Santa Fe Trail to help you find original routes, trail crossings, and local sites.

What were the two routes used for the Santa Fe Trail?

The historic trade route of the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri through Kansas to Santa Fe, New Mexico, had two primary branches —

the Cimarron Route and the Mountain Route

. During the trail’s heydays, both were well-traveled for different reasons.

Where does the California Trail start and end?

The California Trail went from

western Missouri across the Great Plains into the Rocky Mountains to the gold fields of northern California

. It was most heavily used in the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s. The length of the wagon trail from the Missouri River to Sacramento, California was about 1,950 miles (3,138 km).

How long did the California Trail take?

Both trails were roughly 2000 miles, depending on the various routes and cutoffs chosen and would take a typical emigrant family

3-6 months

to make this journey. Although it is estimated that over 250,000 people traveled upon the California Trail, it is often overshadowed by the less-traveled Oregon Trail.

Who were the main users of the Santa Fe Trail?

Traders and the military

were the main users of the Santa Fe Trail. When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, it tried to keep American traders out of New Mexico.

What happened in Santa Fe Trail?

The American army used the trail route in 1846 to invade New Mexico during the Mexican–American War

. After the U.S. acquisition of the Southwest that ended the war, the trail was integral to the U.S. opening the region to economic development and settlement.

How far did the pioneers travel each day?

Average distance covered in a day was usually

fifteen miles

, but on a good day twenty could be traveled.

Why didn’t most pioneers ride in their wagons?

People didn’t ride in the wagons often, because

they didn’t want to wear out their animals

. Instead they walked alongside them, getting just as dusty as the animals. The long journey was hard on both people and animals. It was even hard on the wagons, which usually had to be repaired several times during the trip.

How long did a wagon train take to get to California?

The wagon train would travel at around two miles an hour. This enabled the emigrants to average ten miles a day. With good weather the 2,000 mile journey from Missouri to California and Oregon would take

about five months

.

What did traders who traveled along the Old Spanish Trail sell?

In California, they traded the

blankets and other goods carried by packsaddle from Santa Fe for horses and mules

, available in great numbers and little valued by the Californios.

How long did it take to cross the Old Spanish Trail?

Traveling 12 – 15 miles per day, a round trip would take from

180 – 225 days

, assuming that nothing went wrong along the way. The journey on the trail was difficult. Travelers had to deal with water issues – both the lack of it for drinking and the over-abundance of it for river crossings.

Can you walk the Old Spanish Trail?

The Old Spanish National Historic Trail stretches between Santa Fe and Los Angeles, embodying a rich history, culture, and scenic beauty. In the early 1800s, this trail served as the key to Santa Fe’s success as a trading hub. Since then,

it’s become a popular spot for people to explore and walk through history

.

What tribes were on the Santa Fe Trail?

Although Becknell in 1822 encountered only three tribes, some dozen different tribes lived and hunted along the 800-plus miles of the Santa Fe Trail. Besides the

Osage, Kansa, and Comanche

, others included the Pawnee, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Kiowa (or Plains) Apache, Ute, Jicarilla Apache, and Pecos Pueblo.

Who was the first to start trading on the Santa Fe Trail?

William Becknell’s party

was the first to arrive in Santa Fe, in November, 1821. Becknell made three contributions to the Santa Fe trade. First, he found a workable trail (although Indians and Spanish had been using these pathways for years). Second, he received permission from Mexican authorities to trade in Santa Fe.