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Show 38 BASIS OF AMERICAN HISTORY [ 1850 mediately from the Columbia River into the Sacramento Valley of California, and a demand arose for a more direct route to that country. After several unsuccessful and somewhat disastrous attempts1 to find a suitable pass over the Sierras, Truckee Pass was discovered in 1844,' and the California Trail became definitely established. This route left the Oregon Trail at Bear River, crossed northern Nevada by way of the Humboldt River to Truckee River, ascended that stream, crossed the Truckee Pass, and descended the Bear River to the Sacramento. This was the route followed in after years by the Central Pacific Railroad. Such are the main lines by which native migration and the later exploration and settlement by the whites have proceeded. Their significance for the history and development of the country is obvious. Other factors have naturally Jiad their influence; but in determining the direction of the flow as well as the location of the chief centres of population geographical conditions have been paramount. With the advance of civilization and the acquisition of new modes of transportation, geographical exigencies become less rigorous, but they still remain the leading factor in determining the location and growth of centres of population. 1 Bancroft, Hist of California, IV., 269- 371, 394. 438. * Ibid., 446. |