Ratón Pass is a 7,834 ft (2,388 m) elevation

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

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the 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 western edge of the ...

–

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

border in the western

United States 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It is located on the eastern side of the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains The Sangre de Cristo Mountains ( Spanish for " Blood of Christ") are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountains run from Poncha Pass in South- ...

between

Trinidad, Colorado Trinidad is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 8,329 as of the 2020 census. Trinidad lies north of Raton, New Mexico, and ...

and

Raton, New Mexico Raton ( ) is a city and the county seat of Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico. The city is located just south of Raton Pass. The city is also located about 6.5 miles south of the New Mexico–Colorado border and 85 miles west of Texas. His ...

, approximately 180 miles (290 km) northeast of Santa Fe. ''Ratón'' is Spanish for "mouse". The pass crosses the line of volcanic mesas that extends east from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains along the state line, and furnishes the most direct land route between 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 ...

to the north and the upper valley of the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Santa Fe, to the south. The pass now carries

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexi ...

and railroad tracks. The pass is a historically significant landmark on the

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, ...

, a major 19th-century settlement route between

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

and Santa Fe. It was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

in 1960 for this association.

History

In 1821, Captain William Becknell laid the path of the

through the pass. In 1846, during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...

Stephen W. Kearny Stephen Watts Kearny (sometimes spelled Kearney) ( ) (August 30, 1794October 31, 1848) was one of the foremost antebellum frontier officers of the United States Army. He is remembered for his significant contributions in the Mexican–American Wa ...

and his troops passed through the pass en route to

. During the Civil War, it was the primary path into New Mexico since it avoided Confederate raiders. It was later developed into a toll road by Richens Lacey Wootton.

Railroad route

In the late 19th century, Raton Pass was the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

's (AT&SF) primary route through the mountains. Along with

Royal Gorge The Royal Gorge is a canyon of the Arkansas River located west of Cañon City, Colorado. The canyon begins at the mouth of Grape Creek, about west of central Cañon City, and continues in a west-northwesterly direction for approximately un ...

in Colorado, the pass was one of the focal points for the 1878–79

Railroad Wars Railroad Wars were business rivalries between railroad companies, which occurred frequently in American history. Although they were usually little more than legal disputes inside a courtroom, they sometimes turned into armed conflicts. There ha ...

between the AT&SF and the smaller

Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

. The route over the pass has gradients of up to 3.5% and a tunnel at its highest point, above sea level. The tunnel is in New Mexico, but just barely so, with its northern portal lying only a few feet south of the Colorado border. The route is now owned by

BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

, which absorbed the AT&SF in 1996. While it is still used by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

–

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Southwest Chief The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and Southwest via Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Flags ...

'', freight traffic shifted from Raton Pass to the

Belen Cutoff Belén is the Spanish name for Bethlehem. Belen, Belén or Beleń may also refer to: Places Argentina *Belén, Catamarca *Belén de Escobar, Buenos Aires Province Bolivia *Belén (Aroma), La Paz Department, Bolivia *Belén (Potosí), Bolivi ...

(1908), whose gradients do not exceed 1.25%. As a result, with Raton Pass having little to no freight traffic, BNSF said in 2012 that they could not justify maintenance of the route to Amtrak's standards between

La Junta, Colorado La Junta is a home rule municipality in , the county seat of, and the most populous municipality of Otero County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,322 at the 2020 United States Census. La Junta is located on the Arkansas ...

, and Lamy, New Mexico, placing the future of rail transportation over the pass in jeopardy.Colorado State Legislature, Preserve & Expand Amtrak Interstate Rail Service
p2 Section 1(b)(c)

Highway route

In the 20th century, the pass was used as the route of

U.S. Route 85 U.S. Route 85 (US 85) is a north–south United States Highway that travels in the Mountain and Northern Plains states of the United States. The southern terminus of the highway is at the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, connecting wi ...

and, later,

between

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

. At above sea level, the highway is subject to difficult driving conditions and occasional closures during heavy winter snowfalls.

In popular culture

The pass was part of a

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

song "Snowin' on Raton". During a live performance, Townes commented how he liked playing a show in Colorado because he didn't have to explain what Raton was. The 1951 western movie '' Raton Pass'' stars Academy Award actress Patricia Neal. Raton Pass is mentioned in C. W. McCall's (Bill Fries) song "Four Wheel Cowboy", from his album

Wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

. "Four Wheel Cowboy" also appears on his compilation release, titled " The Best of C. W. McCall".

Clint Black Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is an American country music singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Signed to RCA Nashville in 1989, Black's debut album '' Killin' Time'' produced four straight number one singles on th ...

makes reference to the Raton Pass in the song "The Goodnight-Loving" from the album "

Put Yourself in My Shoes ''Put Yourself in My Shoes'' is the second studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Clint Black, released on November 27, 1990. As with Black's debut album '' Killin' Time'', the album is currently certified triple platinum by th ...

." :Ridin' against the wind in east New Mexico, :His skin is dry and worn as the Texas plains. :He's headed where the air is thin and the cold blue northers blow, :Up through the Raton Pass, but he'll have to beat the early snow, In the 1951

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

film '' Santa Fe'' there is a part about how the Santa Fe railroad acquired Raton Pass for the use of the rail road.

Gallery

File:Raton Pass 1.jpg, Amtrak's Southwest Chief entering the north end of the tunnel File:Raton Pass 2.jpg, Sign marking the elevation of the Raton Pass tunnel

References

External links

Raton Tunnel
* ttp://www.rrsignals.net/Atsf/NewMexico/Raton.htm ''Raton Line: The Original Santa Fe Transcontinental'' a railroad history of Raton Pass {{Authority control Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Landforms of Las Animas County, Colorado Interstate 25 Landforms of Colfax County, New Mexico Mountain passes of Colorado Mountain passes of New Mexico National Historic Landmarks in Colorado National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Rail mountain passes of the United States Santa Fe Trail Transportation in Colfax County, New Mexico Transportation in Las Animas County, Colorado Raton, New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Colfax County, New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Las Animas County, Colorado