Poncha Pass () is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

in South-Central

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

( USA). It lies between the San Luis Valley to the south and the valley of the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

to the north, and is one of the lowest mountain passes in the state. It is in the saddle between the Sangre de Cristo Range, lying to the southeast, and the

Sawatch Range The Sawatch Range or Saguache RangeThe place name "Saguache” is pronounced “Sawatch” . This name derives from the Ute language noun "''sawup''" meaning "sand dunes" and is spelled using the Spanish language version of this name "Saguach ...

, lying to the west and northwest. The small town of Poncha Springs lies about north of the pass. The pass has a mild approach on the northern side and a moderate 5% approach from the south, though it remains open all year round and does not normally cause problems for vehicles in winter. Poncha Pass lies on the border between Chaffee County and Saguache County, and on the border between the

San Isabel National Forest San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 53 fourteeners, peaks over high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado. It is one of eleven national forests in the state of Col ...

and the Rio Grande National Forest.

Transport routes

* U.S. Highway 285 presently runs over the pass, linking the cities of Alamosa to the south and Salida to the northeast. * Until 1951, a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge rail line operated by the Denver & Rio Grand Western Railroad ran over the pass linking Mears Junction to the north with Alamosa to the south.

References

External links

Poncha Pass
a
CyclePass.com
Landforms of Chaffee County, Colorado Mountain passes of Colorado Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Landforms of Saguache County, Colorado Transportation in Chaffee County, Colorado Transportation in Saguache County, Colorado U.S. Route 285 Rail mountain passes of the United States {{Colorado-geo-stub