We already possess, in the artesian well, the means of converting unfertile wastes into rich corn fields;and what unknown forces may not yet be hidden in the interior of the earth?
In the early 20th century, the United States had expanded from coast to coast, but many cities in the arid southwest still lacked reliable water sources.
In the 1840's, California was almost uninhabited. There were a few Spanish missions, some ranchers and farmers, and of course, bandits who stole anything they could find.
As the air leaves the equator, it rains away more moisture, becoming denser and slightly cooler, until finally dry, it sinks, creating the arid bands where many of the world's famous deserts lie.
In Badlands, Holly at one point finds herself out in the wilderness where she is looking at some old images when suddenly her own mortality, and the transience of all things, dawns on her.
The nearest other piece of land to you would be Queen Maud land here off the coast of Antarctica at 1, 600 kilometers away but that island is also uninhabited so there's no use going there.