Poncha Pass (9,010 ft/2,745 m) is a mountain pass in South-Central

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

(

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

). 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 the western United Stat ...

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 , country= United States , subdivision1= Colorado , subdivision2_type= Counties , subdivision2= , parent= Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Rocky Mountains , borders_on= , geology= , age= , orogeny= Fault-block mountains , area_mi2= ...

, 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 "Saguac ...

, lying to the west and northwest. The small town of Poncha Springs lies about 6 miles (9 km) 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 Saguache County (suh-WATCH ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,368. The county seat is Saguache. History Saguache County was formed December 29, 1866 in the Territory of Colorado wh ...

, 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 Color ...

and the

Rio Grande National Forest Rio Grande National Forest is a 1.86 million-acre (7,530 km²) U.S. National Forest located in southwestern Colorado. The forest encompasses the San Luis Valley, which is the world's largest agricultural alpine valley, as well as one of the ...

Transport routes

* U.S. Highway 285 presently runs over the pass, linking the cities of

Alamosa Alamosa is a home rule municipality and the county seat of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 9,806 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is the commercial center of the San Luis Valley in south-central Colora ...

to the south and Salida to the northeast. * Until 1951, a 3 ft (914 mm)

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

rail line operated by the Denver & Rio Grand Western Railroad ran over the pass linking Mears Junction to the north with

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