HE period between 1870 and 1890 was characterized by the development of numerous projects of railroad construction throughout the West, which, had they been carried to completion, would have blanketed most of the area with as complete a network of railroads as that of present-day Illinois. But...
the travelers of the trail evolve to include not only merchants but also raiders, soldiers, emigrants, miners, outlaws and adventurers. He had to know that the railroad had reached Kansas, headed for Colorado and New Mexico, signaling the end of the Santa Fe Trail and the close of an era...
the highest points areBoundary Peak, at 13,147 feet (4,007 metres), andWheeler Peak, at 13,065 feet (3,982 metres). The southern area of the state is within theMojave Desert; the lowest elevation, 470 feet (143 metres), is in that region, on theColorado Riverjust below Black Canyon...