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172-655: The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about 1,600 mi (2,600 km) across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California . After it was established, the first half of the California Trail followed the same corridor of networked river valley trails as the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail , namely the valleys of

344-591: A stream gauge in Salt Lake City that shows annual runoff from the period 1980–2003 is just over 150,000 acre-feet (190,000,000 m ) per year or 100 percent of the total 800,000 acre-feet (990,000,000 m ) of water entering the Jordan River from all sources. The Surplus Canal carries almost 60 percent of the water into the Great Salt Lake, with various irrigation canals responsible for

516-493: A December crossing of the Sierra Nevada mountains over Walker Pass 35°39′47″N 118°1′37″W  /  35.66306°N 118.02694°W  / 35.66306; -118.02694 on California State Route 178 ) in the southeast Sierra, an arduous route used by almost no one else. Trying to find a different route, Chiles led the rest of the settlers in a pack train party down the Oregon Trail to where it intersected

688-544: A brief but furious heyday between 1830 and 1848 as a trade route linking Santa Fe, New Mexico and Los Angeles, California. The Trail left Santa Fe and split into two routes. The South or Main Branch headed northwest past Colorado's San Juan mountains to near Green River, Utah. The North Branch proceeded due north into Colorado's San Luis Valley and crossed west over Cochetepa Pass to follow the Gunnison and Colorado rivers to meet

860-421: A commission was established to determine an acceptable compromise for the elevation of Utah Lake. The commission's 1885 decision stated that if the lake level were to rise above the established compromise level, the Jordan River could not be impeded by either dams or flood gates. Additionally, the commission stated that after water pumps were installed at the source of the river, the pumps should all be working if

1032-780: A divide into the Big Basin drainage and followed a series of streams like Thousand Springs Creek in what is now Nevada to the Humboldt River valley near today's Wells, Nevada . They blazed a wagon trail down the Humboldt River Valley and across Forty Mile Desert until they hit the Carson River . Here instead of immediately attempting to cross the Sierra by following the Carson River as it came out of

1204-471: A fur trading company at which U.S. trappers , mountain men and Indians sold and traded their furs and hides and replenished their supplies they had used up in the previous year. A rendezvous typically only lasted a few weeks and was known to be a lively, joyous place, where nearly all were allowed—free trappers, Native Americans, native trapper wives and children, travelers, and later on, even tourists who would venture from even as far as Europe to observe

1376-538: A gorge in the Traverse Mountains , known as the Jordan Narrows. The Utah National Guard base at Camp Williams lies on the western side of the river through much of the Jordan Narrows. The Turner Dam, located 41.8 miles (67.3 km) from the river's mouth (or at river mile 41.8) and within the boundaries of the Jordan Narrows, is the first of two dams of the Jordan River. Turner Dam diverts

1548-465: A highly regulated river. Although the Jordan was originally a cold-water fishery with 13 native species, including Bonneville cutthroat trout , it has become a warm-water fishery where the common carp is most abundant. It was heavily polluted for many years by raw sewage, agricultural runoff, and mining wastes. In the 1960s, sewage treatment removed many pollutants. In the 21st century, pollution

1720-444: A narrow passage, and according to what they told us, it communicates with others much larger." The Great Salt Lake was described as the "other lake with which this one communicates, according to what they told us, [and] covers many leagues, and its waters are noxious and extremely salty." The next group of Europeans to see the Jordan River was the party of Étienne Provost , a French Canadian trapper. In October 1824, Provost's party

1892-649: A roughly rectangular area of 791 square miles (2,050 km ). The Subbasin is part of the larger 3,830-square-mile (9,900 km ) Jordan River Basin that includes the upper Jordan River, Utah Lake, Provo and Spanish Fork Subbasins. Four of the six largest cities in Utah are in Salt Lake County. The Jordan River flows through Sandy, with a 2010 population of 87,461; West Jordan, population 103,712; West Valley City, population 129,480; and Salt Lake City, population 186,440. Flanked on either side by mountain ranges,

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2064-433: A source of food for fish and other aquatic life, and they function as a parameter by which to measure water quality and the health of the river. There are 34 different groups of invertebrates found in the Jordan River, most commonly of the class Oligochaeta (which includes earthworms ), mosquito larvae and caddisfly larvae. The state of Utah maintains a Sensitive Species List that includes "those species for which there

2236-575: A total of 16.5 inches (420 mm) of precipitation per year. The mean maximum temperature is 91 °F (33 °C) in July and 37 °F (3 °C) in January Areas of higher elevation have two distinct seasons, summer and winter. One of the areas of highest elevation, Alta, Utah, receives 458 inches (38.2 ft; 1,160 cm) of snow annually, part of a total of 46 inches (1,200 mm) of precipitation per year. The mean maximum temperature

2408-496: A unique part of this migration. Their move to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake was a response to their violent expulsion from Missouri and Illinois. As it was also motivated by a desire to maintain a religious and cultural identity it was necessary to find an isolated area where they could permanently settle and practice their religion in peace. The Southern Emigrant Trail was a major land route for immigration into California from

2580-677: A vital role in the expansion of the U.S. into the lands it had acquired. The road route is commemorated today by the National Park Service as the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. A highway route that roughly follows the trail's path through the entire length of Kansas, the southeast corner of Colorado and northern New Mexico has been designated as the Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byw. The Old Spanish Trail witnessed

2752-539: Is 2.8 miles (4.5 km) wide and 0.8 miles (1.3 km) deep. Throughout the 19th century and up to the 1940s, water from the Jordan River watershed sustained the agrarian society of the Salt Lake Valley. In 1950, Salt Lake County had 489,000 acres (764 sq mi; 1,980 km ) devoted to farming. By 1992, however, the rapid urbanization of the Salt Lake Valley had reduced the amount of land devoted to farming to 108,000 acres (44,000 ha), which

2924-582: Is 73 °F (23 °C) in July and 31 °F (−1 °C) in January. The first known inhabitants of the banks of the Jordan River were members of the Desert Archaic Culture, a group of nomadic hunter-gatherers. A 3,000-year-old archaeological site, called the Soo'nkahni Village, was uncovered next to the Jordan River. The next recorded inhabitants, between 400 A.D. to around 1350 A.D., were

3096-486: Is a porphyry copper deposit where magma containing copper, molybdenum, gold and other minerals slowly moved its way to the surface and cooled into rock. By 1890, underground copper mining had started, and in 1907, Kennecott Copper Mine started open pit mining . In the early 20th century, mills were established near the Jordan River in Midvale and West Jordan to process ore. As of 2010, Kennecott Copper Mine's open pit

3268-726: Is a 51.4-mile-long (82.7 km) river in the U.S. state of Utah . Regulated by pumps at its headwaters at Utah Lake , it flows northward through the Salt Lake Valley and empties into the Great Salt Lake . Four of Utah's six largest cities border the river: Salt Lake City , West Valley City , West Jordan , and Sandy . More than a million people live in the Jordan Subbasin, part of the Jordan River watershed that lies within Salt Lake and Utah counties. During

3440-456: Is credible scientific evidence to substantiate a threat to continued population viability." The Lyrate mountainsnail and the western pearlshell mussel , both native to the Jordan River watershed, are found on this list. A 2007 survey of invertebrates and their response to pollution stated that the Jordan River was substantially to severely impaired with organic pollution and that it contained reduced levels of dissolved oxygen. Historically,

3612-624: Is further limited by the Clean Water Act , and, in some cases, the Superfund program. Once the home of bighorn sheep and beaver , the contemporary river is frequented by raccoons , red foxes , and domestic pets. It is an important avian resource, as are the Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake , visited by more than 200 bird species. Big Cottonwood , Little Cottonwood , Red Butte , Mill, Parley's, and City creeks, as well as smaller streams like Willow Creek at Draper, Utah , flow through

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3784-623: Is hazardous, prepares a course of action to reduce the hazard, and finds the parties responsible for the pollution. If a site is listed with the Superfund program, federal dollars are available for cleanup. The Kennecott South Zone/Bingham site contains contamination from Kennecott Copper Mine's operation in Copperton , at the base of the Oquirrh Mountains to Bingham Creek and Butterfield Creek. A 72-square-mile (190 km ) plume of lead, arsenic and sulfates (covering 9 percent of

3956-544: Is not timber enough in three hundred miles of its desolate valley to make a snuff-box, or sufficient vegetation along its banks to shade a rabbit, while its waters contain the alkali to make soap for a nation. At the end of the Humboldt River, where it disappeared into the alkaline Humboldt Sink , travelers had to cross the deadly Forty Mile Desert before finding either the Truckee River or Carson River in

4128-581: Is now called the Carson River across the Carson Range that is east of what is now called Lake Tahoe —previously seen but not explored by Fremont from a peak near what is now called Carson Pass . They made a winter crossing of the Carson Range and Sierra Nevada in February 1843. From Carson pass they followed the northern Sierra's southern slopes, to minimize snow depth, of what is now called

4300-507: Is now northern Utah was covered by a Pleistocene lake called Lake Bonneville . At its greatest extent, Lake Bonneville reached an elevation of 5,200 feet (1,600 m) above sea level and had a surface area of 19,800 square miles (51,000 km ). The lake left behind lacustrine sediments , which resulted in a relatively flat lake bed, and the valley floors have seen today. As the region experienced an increasingly warmer and drier climate over time, Lake Bonneville's water levels receded, leaving

4472-547: Is now the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The Mormon Trail followed part of the Oregon Trail and then branched off at the fur trading post called Fort Bridger , founded by famed mountain man Jim Bridger . Heading south and following river valleys southwestward to the valley of the Great Salt Lake, Brigham Young led the first Mormons into present-day Utah during 1847. The Mormon Trail is 1,300 miles long and extends from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah. The Mormon Trail

4644-438: Is the common carp , which was introduced into the Jordan River and Utah Lake as a source of food after overfishing caused the depletion of native species stocks. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources regularly stocks the river with catfish and rainbow trout . Before the area was urbanized , mammals such as bighorn sheep , mule deer , coyote , wolves , beaver , muskrat and jackrabbits would have been seen along

4816-585: The American Civil War . Most settlers traveled in large parties or "trains" of up to several hundred wagons led by a wagon master . In 1859 the government published a guidebook called The Prairie Traveler , in order to help emigrants prepare for the journey. When it was constructed it became a popular form of transportation between the territories. These trains were more comfortable than the long walks and wagon rides. Disadvantages included robberies from outlaws like Jesse James . The Santa Fe Trail

4988-760: The Bear River by following experienced trapper Thomas "Broken-hand" Fitzpatrick on his way to Fort Hall . Near Soda Springs the Bear River swung southwest towards the Great Salt Lake and the regular Oregon Trail headed northwest out of the Big Basin drainage and into the Portneuf River (Idaho) drainage to Fort Hall on the Snake River . About half of the party elected to attempt to continue by wagon to California and half elected to go to Oregon on

5160-627: The California Gold Rush enticed over 250,000 gold-seekers and farmers to travel overland the gold fields and rich farmlands of California during the 1840s and 1850s. Today, over 1,000 miles of trail ruts and traces can still be seen in the vast undeveloped lands between Casper, Wyoming, and the West Coast. The Mormon Trail was created by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , called "Mormons," who settled in what

5332-500: The Carson Range and Sierra Nevada that were the last major obstacles before entering Northern California. An alternative route across the present states of Utah and Nevada that bypassed both Fort Hall and the Humboldt River trails was developed in 1859. This route, the Central Overland Route , which was about 280 miles (450 km) shorter and more than 10 days quicker, went south of the Great Salt Lake and across

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5504-597: The Columbia River as recommended by the Hudson's Bay Company trappers at Fort Hall. As early as 1837, John Marsh , who was the first American doctor in California and the owner of the large Rancho Los Meganos , realized that owning a great rancho was problematic if he could not hold it. The corrupt and unpredictable rulings by courts in California (then part of Mexico) made this questionable. With evidence that

5676-794: The El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro the Southern Emigrant Trail route in 1849 ran westward from the El Camino Real to San Diego Crossing . After 1855, it ran from Mesilla, New Mexico , westward to Tucson, Arizona , then followed the Gila River to ferries on the Colorado River near what became Fort Yuma . It crossed the Colorado Desert to Vallecito , then up to Warner's Ranch . From Warner's

5848-608: The Fremont people , composed of several scattered bands of hunters and farmers living in what is now southern Idaho , western Nevada and most of Utah. The disappearance of the Fremont people has been attributed to both changing climatic conditions, which put an end to favorable weather for farming, and to the arrival of ancestors to the present-day Ute , Paiute , and Northwestern Shoshone . Although there were no permanent Native American settlements when European settlers arrived in

6020-575: The Great Salt Lake , they traveled west across the Big Basin through the rough and sparse semi-desert north of the Great Salt Lake. After crossing most of what would become the state of Utah and passing into the future state of Nevada, they missed the head of the Humboldt River and abandoned their wagons in Nevada at Big Spring at the foot of the Pequop Mountains . They continued west using their oxen and mules as pack animals eventually finding

6192-727: The Green River —the chief tributary of the Colorado River . After 1832, the fur traders often brought wagon loads of supplies to trade with the white and Native American fur trappers at their annual rendezvous usually somewhere on the Green River. They returned to the Missouri River towns by following their rough trail in reverse. The future Oregon/California wagon trail had minimal improvements, usually limited to partially filling in impassable gullys, etc. By 1836, when

6364-601: The Humboldt River and followed it west to its termination in an alkali sink near present-day Lovelock, Nevada . After crossing the difficult Forty Mile Desert they turned to the south on the east side of the Sierra until they reached the Walker River draining east out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They followed the Walker westward as they ascended over the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains roughly in

6536-574: The Malheur River in eastern Oregon which he then followed across Oregon to California. Another mixed party on horseback of U.S. Army topographers, hunters, scouts, etc. of about 50 men in 1843–1844 led by U.S. Army Colonel John C. Frémont of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and his chief scout Kit Carson took their exploration company down the Humboldt River, crossing Forty Mile Desert and then following what

6708-623: The Mexican–American War . After the discovery of gold in January 1848, word spread about the California Gold Rush . Starting in late 1848 until 1869, more than 250,000 businessmen, farmers, pioneers and miners passed over the California Trail to California. The traffic was so heavy that in two years the new settlers added so many people to California that by 1850 it qualified for admission as the 31st state with 120,000 residents. The Trail travelers were added to those migrants going by wagon from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, California in winter,

6880-555: The Missouri River , pioneers following any of the three trails typically left from one of three "jumping off" points on the Missouri's steamboat serviced river ports : Independence, Missouri , Saint Joseph, Missouri , or Council Bluffs , Iowa. (Once known as Kanesville, Iowa until 1852; after river dredging in the early 1850s, the latter town at the Missouri-Platte confluence became the most common departure point since it

7052-565: The Mormon Trail from Fort Bridger over the Wasatch Range to Salt Lake City and back to the California Trail. In Salt Lake they could get repairs and fresh supplies and livestock by trade or cash. The Mormons were trying to establish new Mormon communities in Utah and needed almost everything then. The trail from Fort Bridger to Salt Lake City and over the Salt Lake Cutoff was about 180 miles (290 km) before it rejoined

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7224-668: The Oregon Country . The main route of the Oregon Trail stopped at the Hudson's Bay Company Fort Hall , a major resupply route along the trail near present-day Pocatello and where the California Trail split off to the south. Then the Oregon Trail crossed the Snake River Plain of present-day southern Idaho and the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon before reaching the Willamette Valley . It

7396-598: The Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA). Maps put out by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) show the network of rivers followed to get to California. The beginnings of the California and Oregon Trails were laid out by mountain men and fur traders from about 1811 to 1840 and were only passable initially on foot or by horseback. South Pass , the easiest pass over the U.S. continental divide of

7568-452: The Platte , North Platte , and Sweetwater rivers to Wyoming. The trail has several splits and cutoffs for alternative routes around major landforms and to different destinations, with a combined length of over 5,000 mi (8,000 km). By 1847, two former fur trading frontier forts marked trailheads for major alternative routes through Utah and Wyoming to Northern California. The first

7740-706: The Pleistocene , the area was part of Lake Bonneville . Members of the Desert Archaic Culture were the earliest known inhabitants of the region; an archaeological site found along the river dates back 3,000 years. Mormon pioneers led by Brigham Young were the first European American settlers, arriving in July 1847 and establishing farms and settlements along the river and its tributaries. The growing population, needing water for drinking, irrigation, and industrial use in an arid climate, dug ditches and canals, built dams, and installed pumps to create

7912-621: The Ruby Mountains in Nevada before getting to the Humboldt River Valley California trail. The severely water-challenged Hastings Cutoff trail across the Great Salt Lake 's salt flats rejoined the California Trail about 7 miles (11 km) west of modern-day Elko, Nevada . The party led by Hastings were just two weeks ahead of the Donner Party but did successfully get to California before snow closed

8084-775: The Snake River in present-day Idaho. From Fort Hall the Oregon and California trails went about 50 miles (80 km) southwest along the Snake River Valley to another "parting of the ways" trail junction at the junction of the Raft and Snake rivers. The California Trail from the junction followed the Raft River to the City of Rocks in Idaho near the present Nevada-Idaho-Utah tripoint . The Salt Lake and Fort Hall routes were about

8256-424: The Southern Route , of the California Trail, remained a minor migration route and in the early 1850s a mail route. After some alterations of the route between Cajon Pass and the border of California and in southern Utah, in 1855, it became a significant seasonal trade route between California and Utah, until 1869, when the transcontinental railroad ended Utah's winter isolation. Up to 50,000 people, or one-tenth of

8428-490: The Spanish Empire . From Santa Fe, American traders followed the old El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro southward to Chihuahua by way of El Paso del Norte . The Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe , in Mexican New Mexico Territory to Los Angeles , in Mexican Alta California , developed in 1829–1830 to support the trade of New Mexican wool products for California horses and mules and carried parties of fur traders and emigrants from New Mexico to Southern California . Following

8600-494: The Sweetwater , North Platte and Platte River Valleys connecting to the Missouri River . British fur traders primarily used the Columbia and Snake rivers to take their supplies to their trading posts. After 1824, U.S. fur traders had discovered and developed first pack and then wagon trails along the Platte, North Platte, Sweetwater and Big Sandy River (Wyoming) to the Green River (Colorado River) where they often held their annual Rocky Mountain Rendezvous (1827–1840) held by

8772-431: The United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers traveled the entire length of the Jordan River, surveying and making observations of the wildlife. In 1869 the river was used to float logs and ties utilized in the construction of the Utah Central Railroad . Around the year 1887 at Bingham Canyon in the Oquirrh Mountains, low-grade copper deposits were discovered and mining claims were filed. Bingham Canyon

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8944-454: The willow flycatcher , gray catbird , warbling vireo , American redstart , black tern , and yellow-billed cuckoo are no longer found along the river. The common yellowthroat and yellow-breasted chat are still found in small isolated populations. The most common species now found are the black-billed magpie , mourning dove , western meadowlark , barn swallow , and the non-native ring-necked pheasant and starlings . Vegetation in

9116-412: The 2006 303d list; parameters that exceeded the standard level for at least part of the Jordan River include temperature, dissolved oxygen , total dissolved solids , E. Coli and salinity. Superfund sites are designated as being among the nation's worst areas with respect to toxic and hazardous waste . The Environmental Protection Agency is the federal agency that determines if a particular site

9288-399: The American River Valley down to Sutter's Fort located near what is now Sacramento, California . Fremont took the data gathered by his topographers and map makers in his 1843–1844 and 1846–1847 explorations of much of the American west to create and publish (by order of Congress) the first "decent" map of California and Oregon in 1848. The first group to cross the Sierra with their wagons

9460-641: The California Trail near the City of Rocks in Idaho. This cutoff had adequate water and grass, and many thousands of travelers used this cutoff for years. The "regular" California Trail from Fort Bridger via Fort Hall on the Snake River and on to the City of Rocks was within a few miles of being the same distance as going to Salt Lake City and on to the City of Rocks via the Salt Lake Cutoff. In April 1859, an expedition of U.S. Corp of Topographical Engineers led by U.S. Army Captain James H. Simpson left U.S. Army's Camp Floyd (Utah) (now Fairfield, Utah ) in central Utah to establish an army western supply route across

9632-449: The California Trail route were discovered and developed by American fur traders including Kit Carson , Joseph R. Walker , and Jedediah Smith , who often worked with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and after 1834 by the American Fur Company and explored widely in the west. Canadian Hudson's Bay Company trappers led by Peter Skene Ogden and others scouted the Humboldt River off and on from about 1830 to 1840—little of their explorations

9804-568: The Davis County border. A water trail for canoeing and kayaking is also being constructed, but dams, bridges, weirs and other obstacles hamper the use of the river. Riverside parks include the International Peace Gardens , 8.5 acres (3.4 ha) of gardens with each garden representing a different country; Redwood Nature Area, about 50 acres (20 ha) of natural areas; South Jordan's Riverfront Park, 59 acres (24 ha) of trails, fishing ponds and natural areas; Thanksgiving Point , including 15 themed gardens spread over 59 acres, and

9976-438: The Donner Party down by about two weeks—Hastings successfully navigated the rugged Weber Canyon in about four days. The Mormon Trail over the Wasatch Mountains followed roughly the same path as the Donner Party trail of 1846 but they built a much better trail with many more workers in 1847 to get to the Salt Lake valley with much less hassle—this was their main route to and from their Salt Lake communities. The Weber Canyon trail

10148-403: The East, after 1859 the Pony Express , Overland stages and the First Transcontinental Telegraph (1861) all followed this route with minor deviations. Once in Western Nevada and Eastern California , the pioneers worked out several paths over the rugged Carson Range and Sierra Nevada into the gold fields, settlements and cities of northern California. The main routes initially (1846–1848) were

10320-564: The Great Basin to California. Upon his return in early August 1859, Simpson reported that he had surveyed what became the Central Overland Route from Camp Floyd to Genoa, Nevada . This route went through central Nevada roughly where U.S. Route 50 goes today from Carson City, Nevada , to Ely, Nevada . From Ely the route is approximated today by the roads to Ibapah, Utah , Callao, Utah , Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge , Fairfield, Utah to Salt Lake City, Utah (See: Pony Express Map and Pony Express auto route) The Central Overland Route

10492-466: The Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake as remnants. The river's greatest slope, 27 feet per mile (5.1 m/km), is in the Jordan Narrows, while the rest of the river has a more gentle slope of 2 to 4 feet per mile (0.4 to 0.8 m/km). Approximately 237,000 acres (960 km ) (46 percent of land area) of the Jordan Subbasin is in the Wasatch, Oquirrh and Traverse mountains. The United States Forest Service manages 91,000 acres (370 km ) of land in

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10664-401: The Great Salt Lake. Both the Oquirrh and Wasatch Mountains are fault-block mountains created from normal-slip faults where the mountains rise at the fault and the valley floor drops. The Wasatch Fault runs along the western edge of the Wasatch Mountains, and the Oquirrh Fault runs along the eastern edge of the Oquirrh Mountains. From approximately 75,000 to 8,000 years ago, much of what

10836-447: The Humboldt River and how to get to it was known to only a few trappers. When trapping largely ceased in the 1840s due to a change in men's hat style that didn't use the felt from beaver 's fur there was a number of out of work fur trappers and traders who were familiar with many of the Indians, trails, and rivers in the west. In 1832, Captain Benjamin Bonneville , a United States Military Academy graduate on temporary leave, followed

11008-427: The Humboldt River and the rugged, hot and dry Forty Mile Desert across Nevada and over the rugged and steep Sierra Nevada by California-bound settlers. In the following years, several other rugged routes over the Sierra were developed. Pioneered by Lansford Hastings in 1846, the Hastings Cutoff left the California Trail at Fort Bridger in Wyoming. In 1846 the party, guided by Hastings, passed successfully through

11180-652: The Jordan River actually ran dry. In the 1950s, due to flood control measures to increase river velocity, large sections of the river were straightened in Salt Lake County. As part of the straightening process, meanders or curves in the river were cut off and the channel slope was increased. The river was also shifted to opposite sides of the flood plain in Midvale and Murray as part of local smelter operations. Floods in 1983–1984 caused Utah Lake to overflow its banks, flooding homes and farmland in Provo , Lehi and present-day Saratoga Springs. Dikes had to be constructed around Interstate 15 in Provo to prevent Utah Lake flooding

11352-438: The Jordan River area found on the Utah Sensitive Species List include the smooth green snake , the western toad , kit fox , spotted bat , and Townsend's big-eared bat . Combined with Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake, the Jordan River offers one of the region's richest bird resources. Over 200 bird species use the river for breeding habitat or as a stop-over on their migratory routes. Once-common native species such as

11524-482: The Jordan River floodplain where willow trees and cottonwood trees would once have been found. Plant species such as foxtail barley , saltgrass , rabbitbrush , cattails and other reeds are still found in small pockets along the river. Exotic pasture grasses such as orchard grass , bluegrass , redtop bentgrass , quackgrass , wheatgrass and fescue have become the common species of grass. The vulnerable flower, Ute's Ladies'-tresses , can also be found along

11696-450: The Jordan River was a cold-water fishery that contained 13 native species, including the Bonneville cutthroat trout , Utah Lake sculpin , June sucker , Mottled sculpin , Utah chub and the Utah sucker . Today, the Jordan River is a warm-water fishery with the Utah sucker and the endangered June sucker present only in Utah Lake. The Utah chub, however, is still found in the Jordan River. The most common species of fish encountered today

11868-522: The Jordan River, Mill Creek, a small wetland and traversed by the South Vitro Ditch. The site, operational from 1953 to 1964, contained a uranium mill and storage for uranium. In 1989, surface contamination cleanup was completed with tailings, radioactively contaminated soil material, and debris removed from the site. However, 700,000,000 US gallons (2,600,000 m ) of contaminated shallow ground water still remain, and studies are underway to determine what action should be taken. The Jordan River Parkway

12040-416: The Jordan River, on occasion, to stop flowing, and in response to the drought a pumping plant was installed at the outlet from Utah Lake. It was the largest pumping plant in the United States at the time, and contained seven pumps with a total capacity of 700 cubic feet (20 m ) per second. Twice, during the droughts of 1934 and 1992, Utah Lake levels dropped so low that the pumps were rendered useless and

12212-440: The Jordan River. The Midvale Slag site is a 446-acre (180 ha) site adjacent to 6,800 feet (2,100 m) of the Jordan River. From 1871 to 1958, the site contained five separate smelters that processed ores from Kennecott and other mines. The site was contaminated with lead, arsenic, chromium , and cadmium . Cleanup of the property is complete, although the Jordan River Riparian Project still underway as of 2010. Sharon Steel

12384-602: The Oregon Country between Great Britain and the United States, mostly along the 49th parallel. The Territory of Oregon was established shortly afterward, in 1848, and over 12,000 American settlers made the journey there during the decade. Families usually began their journey at Independence, Missouri, near the Missouri River with the best time to travel is from April to September. The journey to cross

12556-469: The Oregon Trail along the way in 40 years. American settlers began following the trail in 1841, with the first recorded settler wagon traingroup being the 1843 "Great Migration" of about 900 settlers, led in part by Marcus Whitman . The Provisional Government of Oregon was established by such settlers in 1843, generally limited to the Willamette Valley. The Oregon Treaty of 1846 divided

12728-454: The Oregon Trail to Fort Bridger , the Chiles company enlisted mountain man Joseph R. Walker as a guide. Chiles and Walker split the company into two groups. Walker led the company with the wagons west toward California by following the Oregon Trail to Fort Hall, Idaho , and turning west off the Oregon trail at the Snake River , Raft River junction. At the head of the Raft River they crossed

12900-543: The Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean drainages, was discovered by Robert Stuart and his party of seven in 1812 while he was taking a message from the west to the east back to John Jacob Astor about the need for a new ship to supply Fort Astoria on the Columbia River —their supply ship Tonquin had blown up. In 1824, fur trappers Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick rediscovered the South Pass as well as

13072-464: The Russians, French and English were preparing to seize the province, he determined to make it a part of the United States. He felt that the best way to go about this was to encourage emigration by Americans to California, and in this way the history of Texas would be repeated. Marsh conducted a letter-writing campaign espousing the California climate, soil and other reasons to settle there, as well as

13244-848: The Salt Lake Valley, the area bordered land occupied by several tribes, such as the Timpanogos band of the Utes in Utah Valley, the Goshutes on the western side of the Oquirrh Mountain Range and the Northwestern Shoshone north of the Salt Lake Valley. In 1776, Franciscan missionary Silvestre Vélez de Escalante was trying to find a land route from Santa Fe , New Mexico , to Monterey , California . His party included twelve Spanish colonials and two Utes from

13416-710: The Santa Fe Trail or on the San Antonio-El Paso Road developed in 1849, across West Texas to El Paso where it followed the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro north to link up to the Cooke's Wagon Road/Southern Emigrant Trail at the cutoff through the San Diego Crossing . In 1856, as part of an improvement of the route as a military road, a cutoff was built to Cooke's Spring from Mesilla , (part of Mexico until 1853). From Cooke's Spring

13588-539: The Southern Branch near Green River. From central Utah the trail trended southwest to an area now shared by Utah, Nevada and Arizona. It crossed southern Nevada and passed through the Mojave Desert to San Gabriel Mission and Los Angeles. The Oregon Trail, the longest of the overland routes used in the westward expansion of the United States, was first traced by settlers and fur traders for traveling to

13760-483: The Surplus Canal through four gates and heads north with the Surplus Canal heading northwest. Parley's, Emigration, and Red Butte Creeks converge from the east through an underground pipe, 14.2 miles (22.9 km) from the mouth. City Creek also enters via an underground pipe, 11.5 miles (18.5 km) from the river's mouth. The length of the river and the elevation of its mouth varies year to year depending on

13932-899: The Truckee Trail to the Sacramento Valley and after about 1849 the Carson Trail route to the American River and the Placerville, California gold digging region. Starting about 1859, the Johnson Cutoff (Placerville Route, est. 1850–1851) and the Henness Pass Route (est. 1853) across the Sierra were greatly improved and developed. These main roads across the Sierra were both toll roads so there were funds to pay for maintenance and upkeep on

14104-515: The Utah Territory, and finally the State of Utah. The Mormon settlers shared similar experiences with others traveling west: the drudgery of walking hundreds of miles, suffocating dust, violent thunderstorms, mud, temperature extremes, bad water, poor forage, sickness, attacks from indians, and death. They recorded their experiences in journals, diaries, and letters. The Mormons, however, were

14276-496: The Utah Valley Timpanogots band who acted as guides. On 23 September 1776, the party entered Utah Valley at the present-day city of Spanish Fork . The local Timanogots villagers hosted them and told them of the lake to the north. In his journal, Escalante described Utah Lake as a "lake, which must be six leagues wide and fifteen leagues long, [and] extends as far as one of these valleys. It runs northwest through

14448-718: The Wasatch Range. The vast majority of the Oquirrh Range is privately held, with Kennecott Copper Mine owning most of the land. The State of Utah has scattered land holdings of 9,800 acres (40 km ) throughout the subbasin and owns the beds of all navigable streams and lakes. The Jordan Subbasin has two distinct climate zones. The lower elevations are characterized as a cold, semi-arid climate , with four distinct seasons. Both summer and winter are long, with hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Salt Lake City receives 61 inches (150 cm) of snow annually, part of

14620-593: The Yellow River on several different ferries and trails (cutoffs) that led to or bypassed Fort Bridger and then crossed over a range of hills to the Great Basin drainage of the Bear River (Great Salt Lake) . Just past present-day Soda Springs, Idaho , both trails initially turned northwest, following the Portneuf River (Idaho) valley to the British Hudson's Bay Company 's Fort Hall (est. 1836) on

14792-486: The arid Great Basin, emigrants were able to get the water, grass, and wood they needed for themselves and their teams. The water turned increasingly alkaline as they progressed down the Humboldt, and there were almost no trees. "Firewood" usually consisted of broken brush, and the grass was sparse and dried out. Few travelers liked the Humboldt River Valley passage. [The] Humboldt is not good for man nor beast ... and there

14964-621: The as-yet-unnamed local river drained Utah Lake into the saline Great Salt Lake. This similarity influenced the eventual name of the river, and on 22 August 1847, a conference was held and the name Western Jordan River was decided upon, although it was later shortened to the Jordan River . By 1850, settlements were established along the Jordan River, Big Cottonwood Creek, Little Cottonwood Creek, Mill Creek, Parley's Creek and Emigration Creek. In 1850, Captain Howard Stansbury of

15136-483: The best route to follow (the California Trail), which became known as "Marsh's route." His letters were read, reread, passed around, and printed in newspapers throughout the country, and started the first significant immigration to California. The trail ended at his ranch, and he invited immigrants to stay on his ranch until they could get settled, and assisted in their obtaining passports. After ushering in

15308-535: The border between the cities of Taylorsville and West Valley City on the west and Murray and South Salt Lake on the east. The river flows underneath Interstate 215 in Murray. Little and Big Cottonwood Creeks enter from the east in Murray, 21.7 miles (34.9 km) and 20.6 miles (33.2 km) from the mouth respectively. Mill Creek enters on the east in South Salt Lake, 17.3 miles (27.8 km) from

15480-468: The cities of Riverton and Draper . The river then enters the city of South Jordan where it merges with Midas Creek from the west. Upon leaving South Jordan, the river forms the border between the cities of West Jordan on the west and Sandy and Midvale on the east. From the west, Bingham Creek enters West Jordan. Dry Creek, an eastern tributary, combines with the main river in Sandy. The river then forms

15652-424: The cleanup and a consent decree legally obligating Kennecott to continue the rest of the cleanup. The Murray Smelter site was the location of a large lead smelter in operation from 1872 until 1949. The 142-acre (57 ha) site contained groundwater contamination from arsenic and lead, but the majority of the cleanup was completed in 2001. In Midvale, there are two Superfund sites that sit along 4 percent of

15824-405: The dams in the Jordan Narrows were completed by 1883. A second dam was built in 1890 a few miles (~5 km) downstream from the first dam and was constructed to better regulate the flow of two canals. Both dams have been rebuilt in subsequent years and operate as diversion points for canals rather than impounding water by the use of sluice gates and head gates. The drought of 1901–1902 caused

15996-501: The day in order to find a good campsite ahead of the crowd. Others spoke of the need to wear masks for protection against the dust kicked up by the heavy traffic. The main route of the California Trail branched from the Oregon Trail west of Fort Hall, as immigrants went on forward going southwestward into present-day Nevada , then down along the Humboldt River to the Sierra Nevada . The California Trail came into heavy use after

16168-755: The early 20th century. The major southern routes were the Santa Fe , Southern Emigrant , and Old Spanish Trails , as well as its wagon road successor the Mormon Road , a southern spur of the California Trail used in the winter that also made use of the western half of the Old Spanish Trail. Regardless of the trail used, the journey was often slow and arduous, fraught with risks from dysentry , infectious diseases , dehydration , malnutrition , cholera , highwaymen , Indian attacks, injury, and harsh weather, with as many as one in ten travelers dying along

16340-473: The eastern United States that followed the Santa Fe Trail to New Mexico during the California Gold Rush . Unlike the more northern routes, pioneer wagons could travel this route year-round, as the mountain passes were not blocked by snows. But, the trail had the disadvantage of high summer heat and lack of water in the desert regions of New Mexico Territory and the Colorado Desert of California. It

16512-610: The emigrant trails on modern highways through the use of byway signs across the western states. Pioneers across what became the Western United States in the 19th century had the choice of several routes. Some of the earliest were those of the Mexicans in the southwest. American trade with Northern Mexico created the Santa Fe Trail between St. Louis and Santa Fe following an 18th-century route pioneered by

16684-440: The emigrants who attempted the crossing continent, died during the trip, most from infectious disease such as cholera , spread by poor sanitation: with thousands traveling along or near the same watercourses each summer, downstream travelers were susceptible to ingesting upstream wastewater including bodily waste. Hostile confrontations with Native Americans , although often feared by the settlers, were comparatively rare, prior to

16856-480: The entire Oregon Trail in a covered wagon took from four to six months, following a winding trail 2,000 miles (3,200 km) through prairies, deserts, and across mountains to the Pacific Northwest . The journey was a severe test of strength and endurance so travelers often joined wagon trains traveling about 12–15 miles (19–24 km) per day. Settlers often had to cross flooded rivers. Indians attacked

17028-610: The experience of the 1846 travelers was widely known) that during a wet year, wagons could not be pulled across the Great Salt Lake Desert; it was too soft. In 1848, the Salt Lake Cutoff was discovered by returning Mormon Battalion soldiers and others from the City of Rocks (in the future state of Idaho) to the northwest of the Great Salt Lake and on to Salt Lake City . This cutoff allowed travelers to use

17200-479: The first Oregon migrant wagon train was organized in Independence, Missouri , a wagon trail had been scouted and roughed out to Fort Hall, Idaho . In July 1836, missionary wives Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding were the first white pioneer women to cross South Pass on their way to Oregon Territory via Fort Hall. They left their wagons at Fort Hall and went the rest of the way by pack train and boats down

17372-427: The fluctuations of the Great Salt Lake caused by weather conditions. The lake has an average elevation of 4,200 feet (1,300 m) which can deviate by 10 feet (3.0 m). The Jordan River then continues for 9 to 12 miles (14 to 19 km) with Salt Lake County on the west and North Salt Lake and Davis County on the east until it empties into the Great Salt Lake. The United States Geological Survey maintains

17544-484: The founders of West Jordan in 1850, to provide water for his mill and one built by Alexander Beckstead, a founder of South Jordan, who built the Beckstead Ditch in 1859 to provide water for farmland. Many other small dams and ditches were also constructed in the first 25 years, several of which are still used as of 2010. All of these ditches irrigated only small amounts of land in the Jordan River floodplain;

17716-468: The freeway. Big Cottonwood, Parley's, Emigration and City creeks flowed down sand-bag lined streets in order to manage the overflowing streams. Additional dikes were built at the Great Salt Lake to protect railroad lines and Interstate 80. As a result of the flooding, the Utah Lake compromise level was amended to 4,489 feet (1,368 m). In the Jordan River, invertebrates play an important role as

17888-467: The full widths of Nebraska and Wyoming , and crossed the continental divide south of the Wind River Range through South Pass in southwestern Wyoming. The most common vehicle for Oregon and California-bound pioneers was a covered wagon pulled by a team of oxen or mules (which were greatly preferred for their endurance and strength over horses ) in the dry semi-arid terrain common to

18060-626: The fur traders paths along the valleys of the Platte , North Platte and Sweetwater Rivers to South Pass (Wyoming) with a fur trader's caravan of 110 men and 20 wagons over and on to the Green River—the first wagons over South Pass. In the spring of 1833, Captain Benjamin Bonneville sent a party of men under former fur trapper and "now" explorer Joseph R. Walker to explore the Great Salt Lake desert and Big Basin and attempt to find an overland route to California . Eventually

18232-437: The future Truckee Trail Route across the rugged Forty Mile Desert and along the Truckee River to the foot of the Sierra. They got over the Sierra at Donner Pass by unloading the wagons and packing the contents to the top using their ox teams as pack animals. The wagons were then partially dis-assembled and then pulled by multiple teams of oxen up the steep slopes and cliffs. Some wagons were left at Donner Lake . Once on top,

18404-414: The games and festivities. Trapper Jim Beckwourth describes: "Mirth, songs, dancing, shouting, trading, running, jumping, singing, racing, target-shooting, yarns, frolic, with all sorts of drinking and gambling extravagances that white men or Indians could invent." Initially from about 1825 to 1834 the fur traders used pack trains to carry their supplies in and the traded furs out. Sections of what became

18576-645: The goldfields. With the passes of the Sierras and the Rocky Mountains blocked in winter, another winter route, the Mormon Road between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles was developed by a Mormon expedition from their new settlements at and around Salt Lake City, and by some Mormon Battalion soldiers returning to Utah in 1847–1848. The first significant use of the route was by parties of Forty-Niners late in 1849, and by some Mormon trains, to avoid crossing

18748-403: The high plains in the heat of summer. This heat could cause the wagons to catch on fire. People would form groups of wagons known as wagon trains. In later years, following the advice of Brigham Young, many Mormon emigrants made the crossing to Utah with handcarts . For all pioneers, the scarcity of potable water and fuel for fires was a common brutal challenge on the trip, which was exacerbated by

18920-473: The lake were to rise above the compromise level. However, if the lake level fell below the compromise level, pumps could be turned off so that water could be held for storage in Utah Lake. In 1875, the first large canal, the South Jordan Canal, was completed and it brought water to the area above the bluffs of the Jordan River for the first time. All told, five large canals that originated from

19092-426: The largest, the Beckstead Ditch, irrigated 580 acres (230 ha). By the late 1860s, it became apparent that new, larger canals needed to be built if more acreage was to be farmed. The first dam in the Jordan Narrows was constructed in 1872 and raised in 1880, sparking an outcry from residents living near Utah Lake who thought the dam was responsible for raising the level of the lake. After several years of dispute,

19264-470: The middle of present-day Utah and Nevada through a series of springs and small streams. The route went south from Salt Lake City across the Jordan River to Fairfield, Utah , then west-southwest past Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge , Callao, Utah , Ibapah, Utah , to Ely, Nevada , then across Nevada to Carson City, Nevada . (Today's U.S. Route 50 in Nevada roughly follows this route.) (See: Pony Express Map) In addition to immigrants and migrants from

19436-408: The more established Oregon Trail . The California-bound travelers (including one woman and one child), knew only that California was west of them and there was reportedly a river across most of the 'Big Basin' that led part of the way to California. Without guides or maps, they traveled down the Bear River as it looped southwest through Cache Valley , Utah. When they found the Bear River terminating in

19608-588: The most popular route was the Carson Route which, while rugged, was still easier than most others and entered California in the middle of the gold fields. The trail was heavily used in the summers until the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869 by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads . Trail traffic rapidly fell off as the cross-country trip was much quicker and easier by train—about seven days. The economy class fare across

19780-469: The mountains they turned south, traveling east of the Sierra along what is now roughly the Nevada and California border—about where U.S. Route 395 in California is today. With scarce provisions, winter approaching and failing draft animals, by the end of 1843 they had traveled south almost 300 miles (480 km) on the east side of the Sierra before they abandoned their wagons near Owens Lake in eastern central California and proceeded by pack train to make

19952-441: The mouth. The river runs through the middle of Salt Lake City, where the river travels underneath Interstate 80 a mile west of downtown Salt Lake City and again underneath Interstate 215 in the northern portion of Salt Lake City. Interstate 15 parallels the river's eastern flank throughout Salt Lake County. At 16 miles (26 km) from the mouth, the river enters the Surplus Canal channel. The Jordan River physically diverts from

20124-524: The narrows, the river reaches the second dam, known as Joint Dam, which is 39.9 miles (64.2 km) from the river's mouth. Joint Dam diverts water to the east for the Jordan and Salt Lake City Canal and to the west for the South Jordan Canal . The river then flows through the middle of the Salt Lake Valley, initially moving through the city of Bluffdale and then forming the border between

20296-645: The northwestern corner of Comancheria, the territory of the Comanche, who demanded compensation for granting passage to the trail, and represented another market for American traders. Comanche raiding farther south in Mexico isolated New Mexico, making it more dependent on the American trade, and provided the Comanche with a steady supply of horses for sale. By the 1840s, trail traffic along the Arkansas Valley

20468-640: The other in the Mexican province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México , served the majority of settlers during the era of westward expansion. Three of the Missouri-based routes—the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails—were collectively known as the Emigrant Trails . Historians have estimated at least 500,000 emigrants used these three trails between 1843 and 1869, and despite growing competition from transcontinental railroads , some use even continued into

20640-726: The party re-discovered the Humboldt River crossing much of present-day Nevada . After crossing the hot and dry Forty Mile Desert they passed through the Carson River Canyon across the Carson Range and ascended the Sierra Nevada . They descended from the Sierra via the Stanislaus River drainage to the Central Valley of California and proceeded on west as far as Monterey, California —the Californio capital. His return route from California went across

20812-664: The passes and stranded the Donner Party in the Sierra. As recommended by a message from Hastings after he got through Weber canyon, another branch of the Hastings trail was cut across the Wasatch Range by the Donner Party. Their rough trail required clearing a very rough wagon trail through thick brush down Emigration Canyon to get into the Salt Lake Valley. To avoid cutting too much brush in some places they used multiple ox teams to pull wagons up steep slopes to get around brush loaded canyon sections. Cutting this rough trail slowed

20984-492: The period of organized emigration to California, Marsh helped take California from the last Mexican governor, thereby paving the way to California's ultimate acquisition by the United States. The first recorded party to use part of the California Trail to get to California was the Bartleson–Bidwell Party in 1841. They left Missouri with 69 people and reasonably easily reached the future site of Soda Springs, Idaho on

21156-564: The pronunciation was "Provo"). On 22 July 1847, the first party of Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, and five days later another party led by Brigham Young crossed the Jordan River and bathed in the Great Salt Lake. The River Jordan (located in the Middle East ) drains the Sea of Galilee into the Dead Sea in a way which the settlers found remarkably similar to the way

21328-454: The regulation and management of water quality in the State of Utah. Streams that exceed the standard contamination levels are placed on the 303d list in accordance with the Clean Water Act . The Act also requires states to identify impaired water bodies every two years and develop a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for pollutants that may cause impairments in the various water bodies. The Jordan River and Little Cottonwood Creek were included on

21500-483: The remaining wagons were reassembled and reloaded for their trip to Sutter's Fort ( Sacramento, California ). They were caught by early winter snows and abandoned their wagons near Emigrant Gap and had to hike out of the Sierra after being rescued by a party from Sutter's Fort on February 24, 1845. Their abandoned wagons were retrieved in the spring of 1845 and pulled the rest of the way to Sutter's Fort. A usable but very rough wagon route had finally been worked out along

21672-441: The rest. The amount of water entering the Jordan River from Utah Lake is just over 400,000 acre-feet (490,000,000 m ) per year. Inflow from the 11 largest streams feeding the Jordan River, sewage treatment plants, and groundwater each account for approximately 15 percent of water entering the river. The Jordan Subbasin, as defined by the United States Geological Survey, is located entirely within Salt Lake and Utah counties in

21844-452: The river. The Jordan River has been a repository for waste since the settling of the Salt Lake Valley. For 100 years, raw, untreated sewage was dumped into the river; farming and animal runoff occurred; and mining operations led to 40 smelters being built and contaminating the river with heavy metals, mostly arsenic and lead . In 1962, the river in Midvale recorded a total coliform level of about 3 million per 100 milliliters, even though

22016-462: The river. A "varmint hunt" was organized by John D. Lee around 1848, after the arrival of Mormon settlers. The final count of the hunt included "two bears, two wolverines, two wildcats, 783 wolves, 409 foxes, 31 minks, nine eagles, 530 magpies, hawks and owls, and 1,026 ravens." None of the original large mammals is found along the Jordan River today; they have, for the most part, been replaced by raccoons , red foxes and domestic pets. Animals from

22188-656: The road ran to the Yuma Crossing into California and on to Los Angeles . This route became the Southern Emigrant Trail . From Los Angeles the goldfields could be reached by land over the two routes north, the old El Camino Viejo or by what became the Stockton – Los Angeles Road . During the Gold Rush era it was these routes by which many herds of sheep and cattle were driven to California and

22360-672: The road split to run either northwest to Los Angeles or west southwest to San Diego . From either of these towns, the traveler could continue north by land to the goldfields on the coast, via the El Camino Real , or over the Tejon Pass into the San Joaquin Valley by what would become the Stockton – Los Angeles Road or El Camino Viejo . Alternatively, they could take ships to San Francisco from San Diego or San Pedro . Jordan River (Utah) The Jordan River

22532-720: The road west, the Mormon Pioneer Trail. The trail started in Nauvoo, Illinois, traveled across Iowa, connected with the Great Platte River Road at the Missouri River, and ended near the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Generally following pre-existing routes, the trail carried tens of thousands of Mormons to a new home and refuge in the Great Basin. From their labors arose the State of Deseret , later to become

22704-540: The roads. These toll roads were also used to carry cargo west to east from California to Nevada, as thousands of tons of supplies were needed by the gold and silver miners, etc. working on the Comstock Lode (1859–1888) near the present Virginia City, Nevada . The Johnson Cutoff, from Placerville to Carson City along today's U.S. Route 50 in California , was used by the Pony Express (1860–61) year-round and in

22876-443: The rugged, narrow, rock-filled Weber Canyon to get over the Wasatch Range . In a few places the wagons had to be floated down the river in some narrow spots and the wagons had to be pried over large rocks in many places. Passing the future site of Ogden, Utah and Salt Lake City, Utah Hastings party proceeded south of the Great Salt Lake and then across about 80 miles (130 km) of waterless Bonneville Salt Flats and around

23048-404: The rutted traces of these trails remain in Kansas , Nebraska , Wyoming , Idaho , Utah , Nevada , and California as historical evidence of the great mass migration westward. Portions of the trail are now preserved by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the National Park Service (NPS) as the California National Historic Trail and marked by BLM, NPS and the many state organizations of

23220-442: The same length: about 190 miles (310 km). From the City of Rocks the trail went into the present state of Utah following the South Fork of Junction Creek. From there the trail followed along a series of small streams, such as Thousand Springs Creek in the present state of Nevada until approaching present-day Wells, Nevada , where they met the Humboldt River . By following the crooked, meandering Humboldt River Valley west across

23392-411: The same region crossed by Jedediah Smith in 1828. They were able to finish their rugged trip over the Sierra and into the future state of California by killing and eating many of their oxen for food. Everyone survived the journey. Joseph B. Chiles , a member of the Bartleson–Bidwell Party, returned east in 1842 and organized the first of his seven California-bound immigrant companies in 1843. Following

23564-602: The short amount of time needed to reach the Pacific Coast . Rumors about how the sun always shone there and wheat grew as tall as a man attracted American settlers. The journey to the west was pleasant, but there were dangers and challenges along the route. There were diseases: cholera, measles, smallpox, and dysentery. Children were crushed under the covered wagon wheels, people drowned in rivers, were lost, starved, killed by Native Americans (very few settlers), froze to death, trampled by buffalo, or shot by accident. With these accidents, many settlers died. About 20,000 to 30,000 died on

23736-446: The snow bound Sierra Nevada Mountains by linking up with the Old Spanish Trail in southern Utah and closely following it, with alterations to the route of the mule trails only to allow wagons to traverse it for the first time. Soon afterward it was the route Mormon settlers followed to southwestern Utah, a mission in Las Vegas and a settlement in San Bernardino, California . This wagon route, also called by some of its early travelers

23908-409: The south was the Mormon Trail from Nauvoo , Illinois to Salt Lake City , Utah Territory . During the twenty-five years 1841–1866, 250,000 to 650,000 people "pulled up stakes," and headed west along these trails. About one-third immigrated to Oregon, one-third to California and one-third to Utah, Colorado, and Montana. Although it is often stated that the Northern trails began in certain cities on

24080-430: The southern Sierra mountains via what's named now Walker Pass —named by U.S. Army topographic engineer, explorer, adventurer, and map maker John C. Frémont . The Humboldt River Valley was key to forming a usable California Trail. The Humboldt River with its water and grass needed by the livestock (oxen, mules horses and later cattle) and emigrants provided a key link west to northern California. One of several "parting of

24252-406: The state of Utah criteria for the total number of coliform bacteria in water samples should not exceed 5,000 per 100 milliliters. In 1965, a new sewage treatment plant came on-line in Salt Lake City that prevented 32,000,000 US gallons per day (120,000 m /d) of raw sewage from being dumped into a canal. The Utah Division of Water Quality and Utah Division of Drinking Water are responsible for

24424-464: The sub-basin. The Jordan River Parkway along the river includes natural areas, botanical gardens, golf courses, and a 40-mile (64 km) bicycle and pedestrian trail, completed in 2017. The Jordan River is Utah Lake's only outflow. It originates at the northern end of the lake between the cities of Lehi and Saratoga Springs . It then meanders north through the north end of Utah Valley for approximately 8 miles (13 km) until it passes through

24596-443: The summer by the stage lines (1860–1869). It was the only overland route from the East to California that could be kept partially open for at least horse traffic in the winter. The California Trail was heavily used from 1845 until several years after the end of the American Civil War; in 1869 several rugged wagon routes were established across the Carson Range and Sierra Nevada to different parts of northern California. After about 1848

24768-410: The topography of the land varies greatly. The Wasatch Range rises on the east, with a high point of 11,100 feet (3,400 m) above sea level at Twin Peaks , near the town of Alta . The Oquirrh Mountains rise on the west, with a high point of over 9,000 feet (2,700 m) above sea level at Farnsworth Peak . The low point of 4,200 feet (1,300 m) is at the river's mouth, where the river enters

24940-496: The trails pioneered by fur traders, the Oregon Trail from Independence , Missouri to the Oregon Territory developed crossing the central Great Plains , Rocky Mountains and northern Great Basin . People followed this trail to take advantage of the fertile land the government gave out. Branching off from that route, some pioneers traveled southwestward on the California Trail from Fort Hall , Oregon Territory to Sutters Fort , in Mexican Alta California. Also branching off to

25112-475: The travelers down the Gila River trail in Arizona , and those traveling by sea routes around Cape Horn and the Strait of Magellan , or by sea and then across the Isthmus of Panama , Nicaragua , or Mexico , and then by sea to California. Roughly half of California's new settlers came by trail and the other half by sea. The original route had many branches and cutoffs, encompassing about 5,500 miles (8,900 km) in total. About 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of

25284-445: The trip, at a time when Chorpenning was using only the eastern segment (they reconnected with the main California Trail near present-day Beowawe, Nevada ). Greeley published his detailed observations in his 1860 book An Overland Journey from New York to San Francisco . In October 1860, the English explorer Richard Burton traveled the entire route at a time when the Pony Express was operating. He gave detailed descriptions of each of

25456-518: The wagon trains; however, of the 10,000 deaths that occurred from 1835 to 1855, only 4 percent resulted from Indian attacks. Cholera, smallpox, and firearms accidents were the chief causes of death on the trail. Food, water, and wood were always scarce, and the settlers often encountered contaminated water holes. During summer, the trail was crowded with wagon trains, army units, missionaries, hunting parties, traders, and even sightseeing tours. Some settlers complained that they sometimes had to start early in

25628-513: The water to the right or easterly into the East Jordan Canal and to the left or westerly toward the Utah and Salt Lake Canal . Two pumping stations situated next to Turner Dam divert water to the west into the Provo Reservoir Canal , Utah Lake Distribution Canal , and Jacob-Welby Canal . The Provo Reservoir Canal runs north through Salt Lake County, Jacob-Welby runs south through Utah County. The Utah Lake Distribution Canal runs both north and south, eventually leading back into Utah Lake. Outside

25800-433: The watershed is closely tied to elevation and precipitation levels. About 30 percent of the basin, mostly at higher elevation levels, is populated with oak , aspen and coniferous trees. At the lower levels, 27 percent of the basin is rich in mountain-brush, sagebrush , juniper and grasses. About 34 percent of the Jordan River basin is classified as urban. Russian olive and tamarisk or salt cedar trees now dominate

25972-430: The watershed) currently contaminates the ground water from the mine site all the way to the Jordan River. The largest inland reverse osmosis plant in the country was built in 2006 to clean up the ground water and a second plant has been scheduled for construction; completion of the ground water cleanup, however, is not projected until 2040. In 1998, the site was removed from the Superfund list due to Kennecott's progress in

26144-471: The way stations in his 1861 book The City of the Saints, Across the Rocky Mountains to California . Samuel Clemens ( Mark Twain ) traveled the route in the summer of 1861 with his brother Orion on their way to Nevada's new territorial capital in Carson City, Nevada , but provided only sparse descriptions of the road in his 1872 book Roughing It . Emigrant trail Two major wagon-based transportation networks, one typically starting in Missouri and

26316-436: The way, usually as a result of disease. The history of these trails and the settlers who traveled them have since become deeply embedded in the culture and folklore of the United States as some of the most significant influences to shape the content and character of the nation. The remains of many trail ruts can still be observed in various locations throughout the American West. Travelers may loosely follow various routes of

26488-416: The ways" that split the Oregon and California Trails was eventually established at the Snake River and Raft River junctions in what is now Idaho. The Raft River, Junction Creek in the future states of Idaho and Utah and Thousand Springs Creek in the future states of Nevada and Utah provided the usable trail link between the Snake and Humboldt Rivers. After about 1832, a rough wagon trail had been blazed to

26660-404: The western United States of about $ 69 was affordable by most California-bound travelers. The trail was used by about 2,700 settlers from 1846 up to 1849. These settlers were instrumental in helping convert California to a U.S. possession. Volunteer members of John C. Frémont 's California Battalion assisted the Pacific Squadron 's sailors and marines in 1846 and 1847 in conquering California in

26832-413: The wide ranging temperature changes common to the mountain highlands and high plains where a daylight reading in the eighties or nineties can drop precipitously to a frigid seeming nighttime temperature in the low 40s. In many treeless areas, buffalo chips were the most common source of fuel. During the Mexican–American War , the wagon to California road known as Cooke's Wagon Road , or Sonora Road ,

27004-427: Was Jim Bridger 's Fort Bridger (est. 1842) in present-day Wyoming on the Green River , where the Mormon Trail turned southwest over the Wasatch Range to the newly established Salt Lake City, Utah . From Salt Lake the Salt Lake Cutoff (est. 1848) went north and west of the Great Salt Lake and rejoined the California Trail in the City of Rocks in present-day Idaho. The main Oregon and California Trails crossed

27176-427: Was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Independence, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880. Santa Fe was near the end of the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro which carried trade from Mexico City. The route skirted the northern edge and crossed

27348-429: Was a 460-acre (190 ha) site adjacent to 4,500 feet (1,400 m) of the Jordan River which was used, from 1902 to 1971, for smelting copper from Kennecott Copper Mine. The site was contaminated with lead, arsenic, iron , manganese , and zinc . Cleanup has been completed, and the site taken off the Superfund list in 2004. Vitro Uranium Mill was a 128-acre (52 ha) site located in South Salt Lake, surrounded by

27520-401: Was about 280 miles (450 km) shorter than the 'standard' California Trail Humboldt River route. This Central Overland Route, with minor modifications was used by settler's wagon trains, the Pony Express , stagecoach lines and the First Transcontinental Telegraph after 1859. Several accounts of travel along the Central Overland Route have been published. In July 1859, Horace Greeley made

27692-488: Was built across Nuevo Mexico , Sonora and Alta California from Santa Fe, New Mexico to San Diego . It crossed what was then the northernmost part of Mexico. During the California Gold Rush the routes to California used were increased by the Siskiyou Trail from Oregon. In the south, the forty-niners used the Cooke Wagon Road, until some found a short cut, the Tucson Cutoff . This route, not closed to travel in winter, permitted travelers coming to New Mexico Territory on

27864-432: Was close in proximity to the River Platte—along which the eastern trails ascend to South Pass above Fort Laramie. ) The trails from these cities (and several others) converged in the mostly empty flatlands of central Nebraska near present-day Kearney , in the vicinity of Fort Kearney . From their confluence there the combined trails followed in succession the Platte , North Platte , and Sweetwater rivers westward across

28036-455: Was further reduced to 82,267 acres (33,292 ha) by 2002. Alterations of the Jordan River watershed began two days after the Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley when water was diverted from City Creek for irrigation. The earliest dam and ditch along the Jordan River was constructed in 1849 to irrigate land on the west side of the river near present-day Taylorsville. Other ditches include one built by Archibald Gardner , one of

28208-429: Was judged too rugged for regular use without a lot of work—later done by Mormon workers on the first transcontinental railroad in 1868–1869. All of the Hastings Cutoffs to California were found to be very hard on the wagons, livestock and travelers as well as being longer, harder, and slower to traverse than the regular trail and was largely abandoned after 1846. It was discovered by some hurrying travelers in 1849 (before

28380-418: Was known. A few U.S. and British fur trappers and traders had explored what is now called the Humboldt River (named Mary's River by Ogden) that crosses most of the present state of Nevada and provides a natural corridor to western Nevada and eastern California. The Humboldt River was of little interest to the trappers as it was hard to get to, dead ended in an alkali sink , and had few beavers. The details of

28552-450: Was lured into a Shoshone camp somewhere along the Jordan River, where they were attacked in retaliation for the murder of a local chief. In truth, the murder was committed by a member of Peter Skene Ogden 's party. The men were caught off guard, and fifteen perished, but Provost and two others escaped. The river was historically named Proveau's Fork , as the Quebec-born fur trapper was known as Proveau and Provot, in addition to Provost (and

28724-476: Was originally proposed in 1971 as a flood control measure with two reservoirs, restoration of wetlands, shoreline roads for cars, walking trails, and parks. By 1986, $ 18 million had been used to purchase lands around the Jordan River and to construct the Murray Golf Course, several smaller parks and about 4 miles (6.4 km) of canoe runs and trails. As of 2010, the majority of the 40-mile (64 km) continuous mixed-use trail has been finished from Utah Lake to

28896-440: Was so heavy that bison herds could not reach important seasonal grazing land, contributing to their collapse which in turn hastened the decline of Comanche power in the region. The trail was used as the 1846 U.S. invasion route of New Mexico during the Mexican–American War. After the U.S. acquisition of the Southwest ending the Mexican–American War, the trail helped open the region to U.S. economic development and settlement, playing

29068-425: Was the Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party of 1844. They departed from the Oregon Trail along the Snake River by following the Raft River to the City of Rocks in Idaho and then passed over the Big Basin continental divide and used a series of springs and small streams in what is now Nevada to get to the Humboldt River near where the town of Wells, Nevada is now. They followed the Humboldt River across Nevada and

29240-413: Was the only practical way for settlers in wagons without tools, livestock, or supplies to cross the mountains and usually thought critical to the settlement of the American West. Some of the first to travel the Oregon Trail were Christian missionaries, members of the Methodist Episcopal Church who established the Methodist Mission in 1834. Even though they didn't make many converts, they were impressed by

29412-414: Was used anyway as a route of travel and commerce between the eastern United States and California. In addition, ranchers drove many herds of cattle and sheep along this route to new markets. The San Antonio–San Diego Mail Line , operating in 1857–1858, largely followed this route, as did the Butterfield Overland Mail from 1858–1861. Tied in with the Santa Fe Trail and the San Antonio–El Paso Road , by

29584-521: Was used for more than 20 years after the Mormons used it and has been reserved for sightseeing. The initial movement of the Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake occurred in two segments: one in 1846 and one in 1847. The first segment, across Iowa to the Missouri River, covered around 265 miles. The second segment, from the Missouri River to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, covered about 1,032 miles. From 1846 to 1869, more than 4,600 Mormons died traveling along an integral part of

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