Game Over

The unusual climate of the West presents something of a brick wall to those still trying to promote railroad development in remaining unsettled areas. The problem is the poor range of farming opportunities.

Except for the far Pacific Coast, the great western expanse offers basically just two choices. Mining and livestock. But mining opportunities are widely scattered, and even livestock farmers are dependent upon irrigation.

The rail lines shown in GREEN on the map indicate new railroads built since the previous chapter. ORANGE lines are railroads built earlier. Land development in the West is nearly over, even though much of the map is still blank.
Railroad boom ends, 1910 map

  Game Over
Given how rapidly railroads have been expanding over the previous 50 years, it's astonishing how quickly the enthusiasm fades. New lines (in GREEN) crisscross Oklahoma, but only because it's the last tract of farmland left to be developed at the edge of the prairie. A few new rail lines are also added in the South and West, but almost none anywhere else.

Western mining, 1910 map

  Silver in the Hills
The prairie ends abruptly at Denver, which sits at the base of the great Rocky Mountains extending from Canada almost to Mexico. Few people attempt farming in the mountainous region beyond Denver, but there are great opportunities below the ground. Silver is king in Colorado, often mixed with some gold, and sprinkled widely elsewhere (WHITE dots). But each of these mining locations is quite small. There might be a dozen mine shafts within a few miles of each other, but nothing else for many miles.


Sacramento Valley, 1910 map

  Vital Irrigation
The California economy barely exists outside San Francisco and Los Angeles, although major irrigation canals are just beginning to appear in the central Sacramento Valley region. Wheat farmers and ranchers are still struggling with periodic droughts and floods, and many big landowners are in debt. Irrigation will soon allow more stable fruit and nut farms, which are much smaller and thus more manageable. Almond tree plantations are already appearing in the northern valley. Today, they are immense.