More than 20 years after mountain men Jedediah Smith arrived, California was invaded by thousands seeking to make their fortunes in the goldfields. Most traveling overland headed west along the Oregon Trails before turning south and west, following what became known as the California Trail. As the Donner Party discovered, it was a dangerous journey.
Media Credits
The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.
Source
From the book Voices from Colonial America: California, 1542-1850, published by National Geographic Society © 2006
For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please visit our FAQ page.
Media
Some media assets (videos, photos, audio recordings and PDFs) can be downloaded and used outside the National Geographic website according to the Terms of Service. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the lower right hand corner (
) of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.
Text
Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.
Interactives
Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.