Big rivers and Desert and canyon by train
3 trains pass named big rivers and desert and canyon stretches with a cited source. Ranked by the number of those stretches; the stretch names and the direction and season each is in daylight are on the route pages.
MountainsPacific coastAtlantic coastGulf coastDesert and canyonBig riversPrairieSnowNational parksBig citiesSmall townsWine countryWildlife
45 routes, 520 stations, 44 route pages so far
Ranked by named stretches
| Rank | Route | Named stretches for big rivers and desert and canyon | Count | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California ZephyrChicago Union Station to Emeryville | Mississippi River crossing, Missouri River crossing, Gore Canyon and the upper Colorado River, Glenwood Canyon, De Beque Canyon, Ruby Canyon, Humboldt River desert, Suisun Bay and the Carquinez Strait | 12 | 52 h 57 m |
| 2 | Sunset LimitedNew Orleans Union Passenger Terminal to Los Angeles | Huey P. Long Bridge, Big Bend country, Marfa and Paisano Pass, Rio Grande and the Florida Mountains, Continental Divide, Peloncillo and Dragoon Mountains, Davis-Monthan aircraft boneyard, Yuma dunes and the Colorado River, Palm Springs windmills | 10 | 45 h 35 m |
| 3 | Southwest ChiefChicago Union Station to Los Angeles | Mississippi River at Fort Madison, Missouri River, Rio Grande, Continental Divide, and the red cliffs, Canyon Diablo and the San Francisco Peaks, Colorado River at Needles, Mojave Desert | 8 | 43 h 57 m |
How this ranking works: a route scores one point for each named stretch tagged with each selected interest and cited to an operator route guide or a National Park Service description. Routes without three cited stretches have no page and are not ranked. What counts as a named stretch.