Santa Fe, san tuh FAY, Trail was one of the longest commercial routes in the United States in the prerailroad era. For much of its history, it began in Independence, Missouri, and ended in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a distance of 780 miles (1,260 kilometers). Caravans of traders traveled to Council Grove, Kans., and on to a point on the Arkansas River near Cimarron, Kans. There the route divided. One branch led up the Arkansas to Bent's Fort (near La Junta, Colo.), then turned southwest across Raton Pass to the upper Canadian River in New Mexico. The other route, called the Cimarron Crossing, cut across a wide, dry plain. This one was shorter, but Indians made it more dangerous.