Forty Mile Desert

The 40 Mile Desert beginning here was a barren stretch of waterless alkali wasteland and the most dreaded section of the California Emigrant Trail. If possible, emigrants traveled it by night because of the great heat. The route was first traveled by the Walker-Chiles Party in 1843, and with the first wagon train, regardless of its horrors, it became the accepted route because five miles southwest of here it split into the two main trails to California, the Carson River and Truckee River routes. Starvation for men and animals stalked every mile. A survey made in 1850 showed appalling statistics: 1,061 dead mules, almost 5,000 horses, 3,750 cattle, and 953 graves. The value of personal property loss at the time was set at $1,000,000. The heaviest traffic came from 1849 to 1869, and it was still used after completion of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1869.

Nevada · United States