western lands
Where sun sets
Western lands refers to territories lying to the west, particularly in American historical context where it designated the frontier regions beyond established settlements.
During the colonial and early national periods, western lands meant the vast territories between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River: Disputes over western lands delayed ratification of the Articles of Confederation.
The phrase shifted westward as the frontier moved, eventually encompassing everything to the Pacific.
In fantasy and literary contexts, western lands may evoke a mythic realm of the setting sun, often associated with death or the afterlife.
- frontierEdge of settlement
- frontier townSettlement at expansion's edge
- prairieOpen grassy flatland
- wildernessUncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- territoriesAreas under jurisdiction
settlers · homestead · ranches · open range · cattle drive · plains · wide open spaces · desert · mountains · cowboys · horse country · expansion · manifest · horizon · sunset · high noon · pioneers · wagon train
western, lands, west, land, westerly, westward, westerner, westernize, westernization