Pacheco Pass is a mountain pass located in southern Santa Clara County, California. It is the main road over the hills separating Silicon Valley and the Central Valley. The road that traverses Pacheco Pass is California State Highway 152, which runs for 40 miles between Gilroy and Interstate 5. Pacheco Pass Road, the western section between Gilroy and the pass itself (a distance of approximately 14 miles) is single-lane in each direction and is the site of many accidents. Congestion over Pacheco Pass often forces traffic to take the longer route via the Altamont Pass. In a mountain range, a pass (also gap, notch, col, saddle, or bealach) is a lower point that allows easier access through the range. ... Santa Clara County is a county located in Californias San Francisco Bay Area. ... State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... Silicon Valley is a commonly used nickname for the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California, USA, originally referring to the concentration of silicon chip innovators and manufacturers, but eventually becoming a metaphor for the entire concentration of high tech businesses. ... The California Central Valley The California Central Valley dominates the central portion of the state of California. ... California State Highway 152, or CA-152 near the latitudinal middle of California between Watsonville, junction California State Highway 1 and California State Highway 99 near Chowchilla. ... Gilroy is the name of some places in the United States of America: Gilroy, California Gilroy, Montana This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Interstate 5, or I-5, is an interstate highway along the west coast of the United States. ... The Altamont Pass is a mountain pass in Northern California between Livermore and Tracy in the San Joaquin Valley. ...

There are no major communities between Gilroy and Los Banos in the Central Valley. Where Pacheco Pass Road switches to the two-lane highway of the pass itself lies the Casa de Fruta, an extensive trading post. Originally a site devoted to selling locally produced fruit and nuts to travellers, the Casa has expanded to include a delicatessen, truckstop, RV park, and other facilities. Los Banos is a city located in Merced County, California. ...

On the eastern slope of the pass lies the San Luis Reservoir, which stores water for the Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project. Also, the San Luis Reservoir and Gianelli Forebay operate as a pumped_storage hydroelectric plant. The entrances to the San Luis Reservoir state recreational area are very dangerous because there are no stop signs or traffic lights and two lanes of heavy traffic in each direction. The Central Valley Project (CVP) is a federal water project undertaken by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1935 as a long-term plan to use water in Californias Central Valley. ... Diagram of the TVA pumped storage facility at Racoon Mountain Pumped storage hydroelectricity is a method of storing and producing electricity to supply high peak demands by moving water between reservoirs at different elevations. ...

There is a windfarm located at the top of the pass. It supplies energy to the power grid, but is likely run for research purposes. The turbines can be seen from Dinosaur Point Road, which is used for street luge. It is a very small windfarm compared to the ones located at Altamont, San Gorgonio and Tehachapi Passes. Street luge is an extreme gravity-powered activity that involves riding a street luge board (sometimes referred to as a sled) down a paved road or course. ...

External links

• Casa de Fruta website (http://www.casadefruta.com/)
• San Luis Reservoir state recreational area webpage (http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=558)