Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and Oman) began developing frankincense-themed cultural attractions that
link sites (e.g. frankincense trees, remnants of caravan oases and ship ports)
together with routes that are believed to have been part of the original
frankincense commerce trails (Shackley, 2003: 12). While there is consider-
able interest in the world of tourism, for these frankincense trails to gain
more widespread appreciation, political instability and religious conflict
will need to be resolved before tourist routes can successfully be developed
through the region.
Explorer, settler and migration routes
The original paths taken by early frontier settlers, the routes in Africa used
by slave traders in the 17th through 19th centuries and migratory routes,
whether forced or voluntary, have become important linear resources which,
owing to their scale, nearly always have to be traveled by motorized vehicle.
Explorer routes crisscrossed North America from the 1500s to the 1800s,
as the Spanish, French and British 'discovered' the Americas and began explor-
ing for land, wealth and trade passages to Asia. Many of these tracks were
critical to the development of American and Canadian society and the settle-
ment of the western frontier (Kaplan, 1997; La Pierre, 1998; Laugesen, 2000;
Nickens, 1995; Parfit, 1993; Phillips, 1991; Ross, 1989; Seher, 1991; Staski,
2004; Webster & Webster, 2003; Willingham, 1994). In 1978 in the US, the
National Parks and Recreation Act authorized the establishment of National
Historic Trails as part of the National Trails System. Today there are 19
National Historic Trails, most administered by the US National Park Service
or the Bureau of Land Management in collaboration with the US Forest
Service and a number of local non-profit associations (Table 2.1). Nearly all
of these are based upon original explorer, settler or migration routes.
The Mormon Trail
In 1844, after the assassination of Mormon Church leader Joseph Smith,
most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints left Nauvoo,
Illinois, on a westward trek to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, which was
at that time a part of Mexico. For the Latter-day Saints (Mormons), leaving
US territory would provide the freedom to practice their religion without
mob persecution or government interference. The first group of settlers
arrived in July 1847. The next year, the territory was ceded by Mexico to the
US following the Mexican-American War. The 2092 km track was used as
an important migration route for approximately 70,000 Mormons and other
westbound settlers until the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869
(Hill, 1996; Wahlquist, 1994).
In 1978, the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail was established
under the auspices of the US National Park Service. While most of the origi-
nal trail had deteriorated or was covered by roads, buildings and farmland,
researchers were able to identify 1150 km of trail segments and nearly 100
significant historic sites along the way. Today, 64% of the land along the trail
Search WWH ::




Custom Search