San Gorgonio Pass

San Gorgonio Pass
A small segment of the San Gorgonio Pass wind farm
Elevation	1,591 ft (485 m) NGVD 29
Traversed by	Interstate 10
Location	Riverside County, California, United States
Range	San Bernardino Mountains / San Jacinto Mountains
Coordinates	33°55′0″N 116°45′03″W
Topo map	Beaumont

The San Gorgonio Pass el. 1,591 ft (485 m) cuts between the San Bernardino Mountains on the north and the San Jacinto Mountains to the south, carrying Interstate 10 and the Union Pacific Railroad between the Los Angeles basin and the Coachella Valley. Like the Cajon Pass to the northwest, it was created by the San Andreas Fault. The pass is not as steep as the Cajon or the Tejon passes, but it is one of the deepest mountain passes in the 48 contiguous states, with the mountains to either side rising almost 9,000 ft (2,700 m) above the pass. San Gorgonio Mountain is at the pass's northern end, and Mount San Jacinto is at the southern end. Mount San Jacinto has the fifth-largest rock wall in North America. The peak is only six miles south of Interstate 10. Today the San Gorgonio Pass is used by commuters from the Greater San Bernardino Area to travel through the mountains to Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, and points further east, all the way to Phoenix, Arizona.

Transportation

The summit of the pass is in Beaumont, just east of the junction of Interstate 10 and State Route 60 (former U.S. Route 60), at an elevation of about 2,600 ft (790 m). However, the heart of the pass is generally considered to be further east near Cabazon, where the passageway between the two mountain ranges is narrowest. Eastward from here, the route descends steeply towards the Coachella Valley, with the eastern end of the pass taken to be at the junction of Interstate 10 and State Route 111 near Whitewater Canyon. The Southern Pacific Railroad (now the Union Pacific) laid down tracks through the pass in 1875, and in 1952 an expressway was built through the pass, carrying U.S. Route 99 and U.S. Route 60. There are still portions of the old U.S. 99 route between Whitewater Canyon and Cabazon. Main Street in Cabazon, Ramsey Street in Banning, 6th Street in Beaumont, and Roberts Road in Calimesa are all old sections of U.S. 99.

The San Gorgonio Pass area tends to get snow at least once or twice during the winter months, although it rarely, if ever, sticks to hard surfaces, such as the freeway or city streets. The most famous sight on San Gorgonio Pass is the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm on its eastern slope, as it marks the gateway into the Coachella Valley. (The pass is one of the windiest places in Southern California.) Also nearby are the Cabazon Dinosaurs on the north side of the freeway from Cabazon.

External links

• San Gorgonio Pass Historical Society website