USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Between 1840 and 1860, from 300, 000 to 400, 000 travelers used the 2, 000-mile overland route to reach Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, Utah, and California destinations. The journey took up to six months, with wagons making between ten and twenty miles per day of travel.

Detailed explanation-2: -Perhaps some 300, 000 to 400, 000 people used it during its heyday from the mid-1840s to the late 1860s, and possibly a half million traversed it overall, covering an average of 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km) per day; most completed their journeys in four to five months.

Detailed explanation-3: -It took nearly one month for a wagon train to cross Nebraska and four months to make the approximately 2, 000-mile trip to either California or Oregon. Yet, nearly 400, 000 people traveled the rutted trails from the Missouri River to the Willamette River. The Oregon Trail was never a clearly defined route.

Detailed explanation-4: -From the early to mid-1830s (and particularly through the years 1846–1869) the Oregon Trail and its many offshoots were used by about 400, 000 settlers, farmers, miners, ranchers, and business owners and their families.