Carson Pass is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migr ...

on the crest of the central

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

, in the

Eldorado National Forest Eldorado National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the central Sierra Nevada mountain range, in eastern California. Geography Most of the forest (72.8%) lies in El Dorado County. In descending order of land area the others countie ...

and

Alpine County , other_name = , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Alpine County, California.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = Seal of Alpine Co ...

, eastern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The pass is traversed by

California State Route 88 State Route 88 (SR 88), also known as the Carson Pass Highway, is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It travels in an east–west direction from Stockton in the San Joaquin Valley, crossing the Sierra Nevada at Carson Pass, and e ...

. It lies on the

Great Basin Divide The Great Basin Divide in the western United States is the ridgeline that separates the Great Basin from the Pacific Ocean watershed, which completely surrounds it. The Great Basin is the largest set of contiguous endorheic watersheds of No ...

, with the West Fork Carson River on the east and the South Fork American River on the west. The historic pass was a point on the

Carson Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...

during the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California f ...

and was used for

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

shipping to California until the completion of the

First transcontinental railroad North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...

. The

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

traverses the Carson Pass summit, which has

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

#315 at CA 88 postmile 6.09 where

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

carved his name into a tree.

History

The 1844 Frémont Expedition turned south from northern

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. When encamped at Nevada's Carson Valley on January 31, 1844, guide

suggested the expedition detour west during the winter conditions to

Sutter's Fort Sutter's Fort was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican '' Alta California'' province.National Park Service"California National Historic Trail."/ref> The site of the fort was established in 1839 and originally called New Hel ...

in California for supplies. Local Washoe Indians told them of a route through the mountains, but warned them not to proceed through the snow. Frémont duly ignored the advice and directed the group westward. The Washoe were right in that they were not able to find food or game, and they ended up resorting to eating dogs, horses, and mules just to survive. On February 14, Frémont and his

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an ...

Charles Preuss made it up Red Lake Peak and became the first recorded white men to see

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake i ...

in the distance. On February 21, the expedition made it through the now-named Carson pass west of Red Lake and arrived at Sutter's Fort on March 6 with no fatalities. (italic text from expedition reports) In the summer of 1848,

Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into sever ...

leaving California for Utah built what would become known as the

across the Sierra from Sly Park, California to the Carson Valley via Carson Pass. The Carson Trail became one of the primary routes across the Sierra used by overland immigrants to California in the Gold Rush era. Brigham Young evacuated Mormon settlers around Carson Pass in July 1857, shortly after the breakout of the

Utah War The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US go ...

Maiden's Grave

In 1850, the young Rachel Melton was buried west of Carson's Pass. Her family was traveling from

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

when she became ill. The family camped out with a goal to improve Rachel's health, but she died. The site is a

References

External links

* * {{Sierra Nevada Mountain passes of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Landforms of Alpine County, California Eldorado National Forest California Historical Landmarks California Gold Rush Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest

History

Maiden's Grave

See also

References

External links