Historic Donner Pass

Maximum elevation is 7,085 feet (2160 m) a narrow pass with a very steep approach from the east, and a gradual approach from the west. To get to the Donner Pass, pioneers had to travel through several forts, including Fort Bridger and Fort Laramie. The trail to the pass also passes through the Ruby Mountains and the Great Basin.

This is where in the winter of 1846–1847 the Donner Party became trapped and some of its members resorted to cannibalism in order to survive.

In the mid-1860s the Central Pacific Railroad built a portion of the first transcontinental railroad over the pass. Until the 1970s the Southern Pacific Railroad maintained a roundtable and service center on the pass. This railroad is still in heavy use, although the traffic now runs through a tunnel slightly to the south of the pass.

Read more about the Donner party here: www.donnerpartydiary.com/ and here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_party
Categories: place with historical importance, mountain pass
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Pass
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:  39°19'14"N 120°19'22"W

Comments

  • Northren most line, now abandon, was track 1. Tunnel 41, and the southern track is track 2.
This article was last modified 11 years ago