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had no water. From one extremity of this desert to the other, the road was white with the bones of oxen and horses. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that we could have walked the forty miles and set our feet on a bone at every step! The desert was one prodigious graveyard. And the log-chains, wagon tyres, and rotting wrecks of vehicles were almost as thick as the bones. I think we saw log-chains enough rusting there in the desert, to reach across any State in the Union. Do not these relics suggest something of an idea of the fearful suffering and privation the early emigrants to
California endured?
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On the nineteenth day we crossed the Great
American Desert—forty memorable miles of bottomless sand, into which the coach wheels sunk from six inches to a foot. We worked our passage most of the way across. That is to say, we got out and walked. It was a dreary pull and a long and thirsty one, for we
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If possible, the stretch was crossed at night. An 1850 survey counted 953 graves along this portion of the trail, along with thousands of animal skeletons and abandoned belongings of the desperate travelers.
360:. Regardless of which route they took, the travelers would have to endure about 40 miles (64 km) of desert without usable water. The Truckee route traversed the area starting at modern
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closely approximates this path. The Carson route across the
Lahontan Valley proceeds south from modern Lovelock towards an area west of modern
413:, Mark Twain speaks of his traversing it during the stagecoach journey his brother and he made from Missouri to Nevada in the summer of 1861:
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301:. There is sparse habitation in farmland around the Carson River and irrigation canals surrounding Fallon, an arc of farms around the
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at the junction of I-80 and US 95, the Forty Mile Desert was the most dreaded part of the
California Trail. In Chapter XX of
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368:. This path is along a series of smaller valleys separated from the main part of the Lahontan Valley by the
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289:. The Massie Slough provides water to this part of the desert, but is undrinkable due to the alkaline soil.
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showing the
Lahontan Valley and Forty Mile Desert. The trees in the distance reveal the location of the
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name for Nevada's
Lahontan Valley and the adjoining area to the northwest. Emigrants following the
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at
Emigrant Trails West, photo tour of northern wagon route across Forty Mile Desert
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at
Emigrant Trails West, photo tour of southern wagon route across Forty Mile Desert
235:, United States. The valley is a landform of the central portion of the prehistoric
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Lahontan Valley
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The
Lahontan Valley is mostly uninhabited desert, aside from the city of
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239:'s lakebed of 20,000-9,000 years ago. The valley and the adjacent
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Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce de Lahontan, Baron de Lahontan
352:, the trail forked, with one branch leading towards the
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551:. Oregon-California Trails Association. Archived from
478:(Map). 1:250000. Benchmark Maps. 2003. p. 47.
263:the valley was often called the Forty Mile Desert.
255:is to the south. The valley is part of the larger
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528:. Nevada State Historic Preservation Office
505:. Nevada State Historic Preservation Office
344:west came into the Lahonton Valley via the
243:represent a small portion of the lake bed.
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317:and combined geothermal/solar plant at
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49:The Lahontan Valley is adjacent to the
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603:Valleys of Churchill County, Nevada
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403:Per a state historical marker at a
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549:"Forty Mile Desert - Virtual Tour"
305:volcano, the railroad junction at
299:Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Reservation
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453:Federal Writers' Project (1941).
400:loosely follow the Carson route.
348:. West of the river's end in the
324:The valley derives its name from
475:Nevada Road and Recreation Atlas
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538:State Historical Marker No. 19.
515:State Historical Marker No. 26.
390:First transcontinental railroad
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247:is to the valley's northeast.
27:Basin in Nevada, United States
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456:Origin of Place Names: Nevada
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119:Show map of the United States
132:4,006 ft (1,221 m)
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336:The Forty Mile Desert is a
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195:39.56667°N 118.83333°W
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370:Hot Springs Mountains
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53:and southwest of the
462:. W.P.A. p. 11.
338:California Gold Rush
328:, a French soldier.
261:California Gold Rush
200:39.56667; -118.83333
503:"Forty Mile Desert"
191: /
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257:Great Basin Desert
89:Show map of Nevada
332:Forty Mile Desert
278:California Zephyr
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18:Forty Mile Desert
16:(Redirected from
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394:Overland Route
346:Humboldt River
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275:View from the
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576:Carson Trail
557:. Retrieved
553:the original
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530:. Retrieved
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507:. Retrieved
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386:Carson River
354:Carson River
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283:Carson River
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249:Pyramid Lake
224:
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212:Traversed by
410:Roughing It
267:Description
253:Walker Lake
241:Carson Sink
198: /
173:Coordinates
51:Carson Sink
592:Categories
559:2011-07-26
427:References
319:Stillwater
311:Stillwater
303:Soda Lakes
186:118°50′0″W
532:April 12,
526:"Ragtown"
509:April 12,
405:rest area
372:. Modern
366:Wadsworth
315:Soda Lake
251:is west.
183:39°34′0″N
137:Geography
392:(modern
362:Lovelock
297:and the
162:District
396:) and
382:Ragtown
380:called
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142:Country
482:
388:. The
378:Fallon
295:Fallon
287:Fallon
233:Nevada
156:Nevada
460:(PDF)
307:Hazen
152:State
534:2020
511:2020
480:ISBN
223:The
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321:.
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57:.
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
