Mojave Road
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Historic Roads & Trails -
Mojave National Preserve
Mojave Road |
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Long ago Mojave Indians
used a network of pathways
to cross the Mojave Desert to reach the Pacific coast
from their homes along the Colorado River.
Skirting mountains and other natural barriers, the Mojave Road follows these trails, the most natural travel corridor through the desert. It runs east-west from the Colorado River to Camp Cady, near Barstow, roughly bisecting the Mojave National Preserve. Desert Indians such as the Paiute, Mohave and Chemehuevi used the corridor for travel and trade. Indians guided Spanish explorers along the trail in the 1770s. In 1776, the Spanish missionary Francisco Garces became the first non-indian to trek these trans-desert routes. In 1826 Jedediah Smith trod these trails to become the first white man to reach the California coast overland from mid-America. With increasing westward exploration and settlement in the 19th century, the route became a military wagon road in 1859 when Fort Mojave on the Colorado River was established. The U.S. Army improved the road in the late 1860s and established outposts for the safety of supply wagons, mail, and travelers. Fort Paiute, built to protect Paiute Spring, dates from this time. This travel route remained a major link between Los Angeles and points east. Not everyone passed though; some found ways to make a living from the desert's natural resources. The coming of the railroad in the 1880s made mining and ranching profitable for a time--and immediately replaced the Mojave Road as the preferred method of traveling through the desert. The trail is still visible, especially where it intersects with modern roads, and is popular with hikers and four-wheel-drive enthusiasts. For additional information also see: Eastern Mojave & the Mojave RoadThe Mojave Desert has long been crossed by human transportation routes. The Mojave Road ...Military in the Mojave |
Fort Mojave Fort Mojave Estabished Fort Pah-ute Camp Rock Spring History of Camp Rock Spring Rock Springs Fort Paiute History of Fort Paiute Piute Hill Marl Springs On the Frontier Soda Springs Zzyzx 1860 - 1870 -- Army Outpost Soda Lake Afton Canyon Camp Cady History of Camp Cady Covert Operations --------- Rudolph D'Heureuse Mojave Road in 1863 |
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