Lizard Head Pass, elevation , is a
mountain pass 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 (, 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 ...
, 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 t ...
and
San Miguel River. The pass lies in the saddle between
Lizard Head and
Sheep Mountain.
History
The pass is named for a prominent nearby peak that is said to look like the head of a lizard, the spire of
Lizard Head. 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 (914 mm) narrow-gauge railroad which ran in the southwestern region of the US state of Colorado, from the towns of Durango to Ridgwa ...
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.
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
{{Colorado-geo-stub