the Oregon Trail
/ði ˌɒrəɡən ˈtreɪl/
/ði ˌɔːrəɡən ˈtreɪl/
- a US route used in the 19th century by people travelling west to settle new lands. About 10 000 people travelled along it in the 1840s. It was about 2 000 miles/3 218 kilometres long and the journey took about six months in covered wagons. It went from Independence, Missouri, through Nebraska and Wyoming and over the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River. The route became the Oregon National Historic Trail in 1978.