South Pass
South Pass, seen from the west looking eastward towards Pacific Springs
Elevation	7,550 ft (2,301 m)
Location	Wyoming, United States
Range	Wind River Range and Antelope Hills
Coordinates	42°22′12″N, 108°54′49″W
Topo map	USGS Pacific Springs
Transversed by	Oregon Trail, California Trail, and Mormon Trail

South Pass (elevation 7550 ft) is a mountain pass on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Wyoming. The pass is located in a broad valley between the Wind River Range to the north and the Antelope Hills to the south, in southwestern Fremont County, approximately 35 miles (54 km) SSW of Lander. The pass furnishes a natural crossing point of the Rockies and has historically been the route for the Oregon Trail, California Trail, and Mormon Trail during the 19th century. The pass is a broad open saddle with prairie and sagebrush, allowing a broad and nearly level route between the Atlantic and Pacific watersheds. The Sweetwater River rises on the east side of the pass, and Pacific Creek rises on the west side. Image File history File linksMetadata DSCN6109_pacificspringsandsouthpass_e_600. ... A topographical summit is a point on a surface which is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... A mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands or separated from other mountain ranges by passes or rivers. ... Popo Agie Wilderness in the Wind River Range The Wind River Range is shown highlighted on a map of the western United States The Wind River Range (or Winds for short), is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in western Wyoming in the United States. ... Antelope Hills may refer to several places or geographic features in the United States. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... It has been suggested that Topographic profile be merged into this article or section. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... California Trail The California Trail was a major overland emigrant route across the American West from Missouri to California in the middle 19th century. ... The Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile route that members of Latter Day Saint movement traveled from 1846-1857. ... In a range of hills, or especially of mountains, a pass (also gap, notch, col, saddle, bwlch or bealach) is a lower point that allows easier access through the range. ... A continental divide is a line of elevated terrain which forms a border between two watersheds such that water falling on one side of the line eventually travels to one ocean or body of water, and water on the other side travels to another, generally on the opposite side of... Moraine Lake, and the Valley of the Ten Peaks, Banff National Park, British Colombia, Canada The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Popo Agie Wilderness in the Wind River Range The Wind River Range is shown highlighted on a map of the western United States The Wind River Range (or Winds for short), is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in western Wyoming in the United States. ... Antelope Hills may refer to several places or geographic features in the United States. ... Fremont County is a county located in the state of Wyoming. ... Lander is a city located in Fremont County, Wyoming. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... California Trail The California Trail was a major overland emigrant route across the American West from Missouri to California in the middle 19th century. ... The Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile route that members of Latter Day Saint movement traveled from 1846-1857. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Prairie refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically supported grasses and herbs, with few trees, and having generally a mesic (moderate or temperate) climate. ... Binomial name Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ... The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of the Earths surface. ... View of the Pacific Ocean from Oregon. ... The Sweetwater River The Sweetwater River is a tributary of the North Platte River, approximately 150 mi (241 km) long, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. ...

History

South Pass sign

The discovery of the pass as a natural crossing point of the Rockies was a significant but surprisingly difficult achievement in the westward expansion of the United States. It was unknown to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which followed a northerly route to the Missouri River, crossing the Rockies in high passes in the Bitteroot Range in Montana. South Pass, by comparison, was known only to Native Americans until 1812 when Robert Stuart and six companions from the Pacific Fur Company (the Astorians), crossed the Rockies here on their return from Astoria, Oregon: Image File history File linksMetadata Southpasswyomingsign. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Southpasswyomingsign. ... Lewis and Clark The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) was the first United States overland expedition to the Pacific coast and back, led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark of the United States Army. ... The Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the United States. ... The Bitterroot Range is a range of mountains along the Montana and United States. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... An Aani (Atsina) named Assiniboin Boy. ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Pacific Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor on June 23, 1810, as a subsidiary of his American Fur Company. ... The Astor Expedition in 1810-1812 was the first overland expedition from St. ... The Astoria Column Suomi Hall, the meeting hall of Finnish and Scandinavian immigrants, under the Astoria-Megler Bridge Woman walking her dog along the Columbia River in Astoria The city of Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. ...

Map of southwestern Wyoming showing location of South Pass at the headwaters of the Sweetwater River

"In 1811, the overland party of Mr. Astor's expedition, under the command of Mr. Wilson P. Hunt, of Trenton, New Jersey, although numbering sixty well armed men, found the Indians so very troublesome in the country of the Yellowstone River, that the party of seven persons who left Astoria toward the end of June, 1812, considering it dangerous to pass again by the route of 1811, turned toward the southeast as soon as they had crossed the main chain of the Rocky Mountains, and, after several days' journey, came through the celebrated 'South Pass' in the month of November, 1812.

Pursuing from thence an easterly course, they fell upon the River Platte of the Missouri, where they passed the winter and reached St. Louis in April, 1813.

The seven persons forming the party were Robert McClelland of Hagerstown, who, with the celebrated Captain Wells, was captain of spies under General Wayne in his famous Indian campaign, Joseph Miller of Baltimore, for several years an officer of the U. S. Army, Robert Stuart, a citizen of Detroit, Benjamin Jones, of Missouri, who acted as huntsman of the party, Francois LeClaire, a halfbreed, and André Valée, a Canadian voyageur, and Ramsay Crooks, who is the only survivor of this small band of adventurers." (Letter of Ramsay Crooks to the Detroit free Press, June 28, 1856)

The knowledge of its location was lost, however, so for over a decade trappers used a longer, more northern route which included an extra mountain range and offered a shorter season for crossing. In 1824, Jedediah Smith rediscovered the pass. In 1832, Captain Benjamin Bonneville and a caravan of 110 men and 20 wagons became the first group to take wagons over the pass. In July 1836, Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spaulding were the first pioneer women to cross South Pass. In the 1840s, the route furnished the convenient crossing point for emigrants westward, most of whom followed the Sweetwater River across Wyoming to its headwaters. Before the railroads offered an easier crossing in 1869, perhaps half a million would trek through South Pass. Image File history File links Wpdms_southpass. ... Image File history File links Wpdms_southpass. ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... John Jacob Astor, detail of an oil painting by Gilbert Stuart, 1794 John Jacob (originally Johann Jakob) Astor (July 17, 1763 - March 29, 1848) was the first of the Astor family dynasty and the first millionaire in the United States, making his fortune in the fur trade and real estate... Nickname: Trent Location of Trenton inside of Mercer County Coordinates: Country United States State New Jersey County Mercer County Founded circa 1719 Mayor Douglas H. Palmer Area    - City 21. ... Yellowstone River, Fishing Bridge, July 1959. ... The Platte River, showing the North Platte and South Platte The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 310 mi. ... Nickname: Gateway City, Gateway to the West, or Mound City Location in the state of Missouri Coordinates: Country United States State Missouri County Independent City Mayor Francis G. Slay (D) Area    - City 66. ... 1813 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... A mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands or separated from other mountain ranges by passes or rivers. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Jedediah Smith Jedediah Strong Smith (born June 24, 1799 - presumed date of death May 27, 1831) was a hunter, trapper, fur trader and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the 19th century. ... 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Benjamin Bonneville Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville (April 14, 1796-1878) was a French-born officer in the United States Army, fur trapper, and explorer in the American West. ... Charles Darwin 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Whitman massacre (also known as the Walla Walla massacre) was the murder in the Oregon Country on November 29, 1847 of U.S. missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa, along with 15 others, by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians. ... // Events and Trends Technology First use of general anesthesia in an operation, by Crawford Long The first electrical telegraph sent by Samuel Morse on May 24, 1844 from Baltimore to Washington, D.C.. War, peace and politics First signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) on February... The Emigrant Trail is the name collectively applied to the network of wagon trails throughout the American West during the middle 19th century, used by emigrants from the eastern United States to settle lands west of Rocky Mountains. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

Gold had been discovered in the gulches near the pass as early as 1842. It was not until 1867, when an ore sample was transported to Salt Lake City, that an influx of miners descended into the region. The gold rush led to the establishment of booming mining communities such as South Pass City and Atlantic City. The placer gold in the streams was exhausted quickly, however, and by 1870 the miners began leaving the region. In 1884, Emile Granier, a French mining engineer, established a hydraulic drilling operation that allowed gold mining to continue. Gold mining was revived once again in nearby Rock Creek in the 1930s. From the 1960s through 1983, a US Steel iron ore mine operated in Atlantic City. General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Flag Seal Nickname: Crossroads of the West Location Location of Salt Lake City in Salt Lake County, Utah Coordinates , Government County Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson Geographical characteristics Area     City 285. ... South Pass City is a census-designated place located in Fremont County, Wyoming. ... Atlantic City is a census-designated place located in Fremont County, Wyoming. ... A sluice box used in placer mining Placer mining (pronounced plass-er) is an open-pit or open-cast form of mining by which certain valuable minerals are extracted from the surface of the earth without tunneling. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X), later named USX Corporation in 1991, then renamed the United States Steel Corporation again in 2001 when the shareholders of USX spun off the steelmaking assets of the company after its acquisition of Marathon Oil, was once the largest steel producer and largest... This heap of iron ore pellets will be used in steel production. ...

Wyoming State Highway 28 traverses the pass, roughly following the route of the Oregon Trail. Wagon ruts are still clearly visible in numerous sites along the highway.

South Pass was designated a national historic landmark in 1961. USS Constitution. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ...

External links

• History and virtual tour of South pass
• Ramsay Crooks" letter
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 42.3700° -108.9135°
  • WikiSatellite view at - WikiMapia
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA