Americans moved to the west to settle. One reason they did this was because they would get free land from Oklahoma. Another reason why people moved west was because they were looking for gold in California. One last reason they moved west was because they could transport things easier due to Transcontinental Railroad. In order to get to the west, you needed trails. There were three main trails that most people took. They were the Mormon trail, Oregon trail, and Santa Fe trail. The land in Utah before the Mormons arrived was not productive at all. It was natural and had no permanent residents except groups of Native Americans. The Mormons irrigated and tilled the ground