Activating Prior Knowledge and Journal Entries
How do you prepare for a trip or journey?
Question and Answer Relationship
Right There—How long did it take to organize a train of 50 wagons?
Putting It Together— What new element does Burnett want to take on this trip to California?
Author and Me— How does Burnett show that he is aware of the difficulties of travel by wagon train?
Using Geographical Themes
Location - Every geographical feature has a unique location or a global address. Geographers describe these locations in two ways.
First, they use imaginary grid lines called latitude and longitude. Each point on the Earth's surface can be identified with these lines. This point is called absolute location. For example, the absolute location of Portland, Oregon, is 45 N, 122 W.
Second, they identify a location by its relation to another place. Relative location refers to the many ways - by land, by water, even by technology - that places are connected. For example, East Wenatchee is east of Wenatchee, Waterville is 27 miles northeast of Wenatchee, and the Cascade Mountains are between Spokane and Seattle.
As a geographer your task is to—
- Research the Donner Party. Locate Donner Pass on a map.
- Write a one-page report. In the first paragraph, describe the background of the group. Who was in the party? When did this happen? Where did they start? Where were they going? Why?
- In the next paragraph describe what happened to the group.
- In the final paragraph, tell why the party met such a horrible fate. How did their location and the climate at that location affect them and their movement?
Be sure to write this report in your own words.
Side Trip
Liberty, Washington, can date its history from 1868 when a group of prospectors stopped for lunch along the bank of Swauk Creek. There the miners found material they believed was foolÂ’s gold. Several years later, when these men returned with more experienced miners, they realized that they had been mistaken. Within a few weeks, hundreds of prospectors crowded into the area hoping to make their fortune. Today you can visit Swauk Creek and see the machinery that the miners used.
The Rest of the Story
Mining changed over time in the Pacific Northwest. At first miners simply used picks, pans, shovels, and a sluice box to find gold and other precious metals in streams and rivers. Next, large companies employed tools such as dredges and water cannons. Finally, in lode mining, tunnels were dug into the land, and huge rocks were pulled out of the earth. From these rocks, mining companies hoped to find only ounces of gold.