90°W
120°W
Gold Rush Routes
Except for those lucky Californios, reaching
the Sierra foothills to search for gold required
a difficult journey lasting three to six months. From
the eastern United States thousands of would-be
Snake R
route required a different set of hardships.
Mi
Ore
go
ss
iss
i
pi
p
ett e
rail
nT
Will
am
Oregon
City
miners followed one of three difficult routes. Each
r
ive
C olumbia River
Portland
The quickest route was to sail to Central America,
r
Mi
ss
R
Riv
e
ou
then walk across the Isthmus of Panama, which
ri
Fort
Hall
Ri
ve
r
d
Salt
Lake
City
R
Sacramento
City
lifo r
nia T
rail
Bent’s
Fort
Santa Fe Tra
Ri
qu i
Joa
nR
Co
.
r
lo
R i ver
il
A
an
sas
R
r
ive
Fort
Smith
Red R
iver
Los Angeles
Yuma
San
Diego
malaria, dysentery, rancid water, and rotten food.
either the California or Gila River Trail. Travelers
on this route often ran short of food and water,
lost the trail, and fought with American Indians.
Chinese miners also packed small boats for the
G i la
Gila River Trail
of Cape Horn involved dangerous storms, scurvy,
The third option was a 2,000-mile overland trip on
off
Cut
Ci m
Gregg-Marcy Route
Santa Fe
Albuquerque
St.
Louis
Independence
rk
n
arro
South America. This trip around the icy waters
St. Joseph
Fort
Leavenworth
v
San
Monterey
San J
ua
n
New
Mexico. The second choice was to sail around
York
Fort
Kearney
er
o
ad
cholera, or through the deserts of northern
Council
Bluffs
iver
eR
att
Pl
Tucson
Sabi
ne
El Paso
o
Ri
e
Low
de
an
Gr
Fredericksburg
Pacific Ocean. Whether traveling overland or by
New
Orleans
Nuece s
San
Antonio
sea, many gold seekers were not prepared for the
immense hardships of the journey.
Galveston
Port
Lavaca
Corpus
Christi
Chihauhua
Laredo
Parras
dangerous four to eight week sail across the
R
r
ive
Upp
e r Emigran
t Road
rE
m igrant Trail
Brazos
Monterrey
Durango
Mazatlán
San
Blas
Tampico
Mexico
City
Vera Cruz
Isthmus of
Panama
New York
San Francisco
Mazatlan
San Blas
Vera Cruz
Isthmus
of Panama
Lima
30°N
The sources and credits for this map are listed at http://humboldt.edu/cga/atlas-sources-credits. Note that this map is an 11x14 page, and not meant for 8.5x11 printing or use.
Sacremento
San
Francisco
bol
Fort
Bridger
Rive
r
H um
r
ive
tR
was infested with diseases called malaria and
Mis
siss
ipp
i
C al
Orego
n-C
a
Soussth
Pa
ra
ia T
iforn
il
Cut
-
Off
Lass
en’s
Fort
Laramie
0°
Valparaiso
Cape Horn
26
California Geographic Alliance ©2010