Lizard Head Pass, elevation , 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 the
San Juan Mountains
The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry ...
of
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 ...
, on the border between
Dolores and
San Miguel counties.
It is also on the divide between the watersheds of the
Dolores River
The Dolores River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Colorado and Utah. The river drains a rugged and arid region of the Colorado Plateau west of the San Juan Mountains. Its name derives from the Spa ...
and
San Miguel River. The pass lies in the saddle between
Lizard Head
Lizard Head is a mountain summit in the San Miguel Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness, west by south (Absolute bearing, bearing 258°) of the town of Ophir, Colorado, United St ...
and
Sheep Mountain.
History
The pass is named for a prominent nearby peak, the spire of
Lizard Head
Lizard Head is a mountain summit in the San Miguel Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness, west by south (Absolute bearing, bearing 258°) of the town of Ophir, Colorado, United St ...
. The pass is currently traversed by
State Highway 145, about 12 miles south of the
Telluride turnoff.
It was also used by the historic
Rio Grande Southern Railroad
The Rio Grande Southern Railroad (reporting mark RGS, also referred to as "The Southern") was a 3 ft gauge railways, 3 ft (914 mm) Narrow gauge railways, narrow-gauge railroad which ran in the southwestern region of the United States, US s ...
until 1952. Although the grades on both sides of the pass are mild for automobile traffic, this was a significant obstacle for the railroad, and this was a factor leading to the use of the
Galloping Goose railcars.
Climate
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
Mountain passes of Colorado
Landforms of Dolores County, Colorado
Landforms of San Miguel County, Colorado
San Juan Mountains (Colorado)
Rail mountain passes of the United States
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