When we think of the wild west, some images that may come to mind are dusty plains and wide blue skies overhead, and in some parts of the country this wasn't so far off, but they didn't exactly have as an exciting or inspiring name for it for those who were willing to explore them. The Great American Desert was coined as a term mainly used by Stephen Harriman Long who travelled across this part of the United States during the 1820s for scientific exploration. The "Great American Desert" compromised mainly of the states in the high and great plains that we know now, such as Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and more. A vast part of the land was bought by the United States from France due to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and Long was hired by the US government to explore the West, including this part of the country and the Rocky Mountains. He ended up naming the land the Great American Desert.
One of the biggest things that they ended up finding was that the expanse of the Great American desert was unsuitable for farming. The expedition team said it was "unfit for cultivation and of course uninhabitable by a people depending upon agriculture" in one of the reports due to the lack of water, timber, and fertile soil compared to the eastern United States. Although the name suggests that it was a desert, we know now that this isn't the same meaning of what we use this word for now, especially with how productive the land is in modern times. However, compared to the eastern United States, there were more droughts and other natural predicaments that caused settlers to struggle in this environment since they weren't used to it, facing heat, dust storms, lack of water, and disease. By the 1870s, cattle ranching and travelling trails started to form along these parts, making it easier to traverse and settling down.
As I mentioned before, this expedition was partly for scientific exploration, and Long's team ended up having a lot of new scientific discoveries. They ended up finding tons of plant species(such as the Aquilegia coerulea), insects(such as the Blaps suturalis), animals(such as the Antigone canadensis), fossils, minerals, and sketches of western landscapes and wildlife. This was due to the fact that this was the first exploring party from America that featured professional scientists(zoologist and botanist), as well as two skilled artists who drew what they saw.
Even though Stephen H. Long and many other Americans during that time viewed the Great American Desert as a harsh, empty, and nearly impossible place to settle, history ended up proving that this region was far more important than they originally believed. Over time pioneers, cowboys, ranchers, railroad workers, and Native peoples all shaped the plains into one of the most recognisable, and one of my favourite, parts of the American west. What was once seen as a barren obstacle became a symbol of western expansion and opportunity, even if life there was still incredibly difficult. This part of the American frontier gives us a reminder about more than just adventure and gold rushes, but also about people trying to understand and survive a landscape that was unfamiliar to them, and finding something truly beautiful.
One of the biggest things that they ended up finding was that the expanse of the Great American desert was unsuitable for farming. The expedition team said it was "unfit for cultivation and of course uninhabitable by a people depending upon agriculture" in one of the reports due to the lack of water, timber, and fertile soil compared to the eastern United States. Although the name suggests that it was a desert, we know now that this isn't the same meaning of what we use this word for now, especially with how productive the land is in modern times. However, compared to the eastern United States, there were more droughts and other natural predicaments that caused settlers to struggle in this environment since they weren't used to it, facing heat, dust storms, lack of water, and disease. By the 1870s, cattle ranching and travelling trails started to form along these parts, making it easier to traverse and settling down.
As I mentioned before, this expedition was partly for scientific exploration, and Long's team ended up having a lot of new scientific discoveries. They ended up finding tons of plant species(such as the Aquilegia coerulea), insects(such as the Blaps suturalis), animals(such as the Antigone canadensis), fossils, minerals, and sketches of western landscapes and wildlife. This was due to the fact that this was the first exploring party from America that featured professional scientists(zoologist and botanist), as well as two skilled artists who drew what they saw.
Even though Stephen H. Long and many other Americans during that time viewed the Great American Desert as a harsh, empty, and nearly impossible place to settle, history ended up proving that this region was far more important than they originally believed. Over time pioneers, cowboys, ranchers, railroad workers, and Native peoples all shaped the plains into one of the most recognisable, and one of my favourite, parts of the American west. What was once seen as a barren obstacle became a symbol of western expansion and opportunity, even if life there was still incredibly difficult. This part of the American frontier gives us a reminder about more than just adventure and gold rushes, but also about people trying to understand and survive a landscape that was unfamiliar to them, and finding something truly beautiful.
