Chief Joseph Pass ( elev. ) 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 ...

on the

continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

in the northwestern United States joining

Lemhi County, Idaho Lemhi County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,974. The largest city and county seat is Salmon. The county was established in 1869 and named after Fort Lemhi (or Limhi), a remote Morm ...

, and

Beaverhead County, Montana Beaverhead County is the largest county by area in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,371. Its county seat is Dillon. The county was founded in 1865. Much of the perimeter of the county is the Continental ...

. The pass is in the Bitterroot Mountains and is traversed by Montana Highway 43; it is named after

Chief Joseph ''Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt'' (or ''hinmatóowyalahtq̓it'' in Americanist orthography; March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904), popularly known as Chief Joseph, Young Joseph, or Joseph the Younger, was a leader of the wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) ...

of the Wallowa band of the

Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

, who traversed the pass in the summer of 1877 during the

Nez Perce War The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the ''Palouse'' tribe led by Red Echo (''Hahtalekin'') and ...

, prior to the

Battle of the Big Hole The Battle of the Big Hole was fought in Montana Territory, August 9–10, 1877, between the United States Army and the Nez Perce tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans during the Nez Perce War. Both sides suffered heavy c ...

to the east. West of the pass, the highway connects with US-93 at Lost Trail Pass, about a half-mile (0.8 km) west of the divide. Between the passes, the Montana highway is actually in Idaho, for about . This is the northernmost pass on the continental divide between Idaho and Montana. Less than a mile north, the divide heads eastward into Montana, following the Ravalli– Beaverhead county line towards

Butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

, then north to Glacier National Park. East of Chief Joseph Pass, Highway 43 descends to the town of

Wisdom Wisdom, also known as sapience, is the ability to apply knowledge, experience, and good judgment to navigate life’s complexities. It is often associated with insight, discernment, and ethics in decision-making. Throughout history, wisdom ha ...

, east, passing the historic

Big Hole National Battlefield Big Hole National Battlefield preserves a battlefield in the western United States, located in Beaverhead County, Montana. In 1877, the Nez Perce fought a delaying action against the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Regiment here on August 9 and 10, du ...

. In early September 1805, the westbound

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

crossed either this pass or the nearby Lost Trail Pass (from the Idaho side) as they descended northward into the

Bitterroot Valley The Bitterroot Valley is located in southwestern Montana, along the Bitterroot River between the Bitterroot Range and Sapphire Mountains, in the Northwestern United States. Geography The valley extends approximately from Lost Trail Pass in I ...

of what is now Ravalli County, and later crossed Lolo Pass back into Idaho. With lifts and runs in two states, the Lost Trail Powder Mountain ski area is about west, at Lost Trail Pass on US-93.

Notes

Mountain passes of Idaho Mountain passes of Montana Landforms of Lemhi County, Idaho Landforms of Beaverhead County, Montana Transportation in Lemhi County, Idaho Transportation in Beaverhead County, Montana {{BeaverheadCountyMT-geo-stub

See also

Notes