The discovery of South Pass in 1812 led to the development of the Oregon Trail, which was a network of trails that included the California Trail and Mormon Trail. By the 1840s, large numbers of prairie schooners were crossing the Continental Divide and heading for settlements (or gold strikes) in California, Oregon and Utah.
Independence, Missouri, was the most popular "jumping off point" for the Oregon Trail. From this Missouri settlement, pioneers would head west until they picked up the Platte River.
Mormons traveling to Utah often departed from Council Bluffs, a small settlement on the east bank of the Missouri River in Iowa. From there, they would head west until they picked up the Platte River.
Pioneers headed for Oregon would head north along the Snake River after crossing the "Great Divide," eventually traveling down the Columbia River until they reached the Willamette Valley, where present-day Portland is located.
The Gold Rush attracted many miners to California. The California Trail, sometimes called the Oregon California Trail, parted from the main trail in southern Idaho, then traversed a foreboding desert, ascended the rugged Sierra Nevada before the final descent to Sacramento.
Mormons left the Oregon Trail at Fort Bridger for a short journey to Salt Lake City and the territory of Utah. Those with Utah as a final destination were considered to be on the "Mormon Trail."
