Luther Pass (el. 7,740 ft. / 2,359 m) 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 ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

, between the

Carson River The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long although the addition of the East Fork makes the total length , traversing five counties: Alpine Count ...

basin to the southeast and

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

to the northwest. It is traversed by State Route 89 and lies on the boundary between Alpine County (in the Carson River basin) and

El Dorado County El Dorado County (; ''El Dorado'', Spanish language, Spanish for "The Golden ne), officially the County of El Dorado, is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

(in the Tahoe area). The pass crosses a mountain spur that links the Sierra Crest, the main ridge of the Sierra Nevada to the southwest of the pass, with the

Carson Range The Carson Range is a spur of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California and western Nevada that starts at Carson Pass and stretches north to the Truckee River near Verdi, Nevada. Geography The mountain range is about 50 miles (80 km) long a ...

to the northeast. The pass is named after Ira M. Luther, one of the "Irish Brigade" described by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

in ''

Roughing It ''Roughing It'' is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain. It was written in 1870–71 and published in 1872, following his first travel book '' The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to Twain's m ...

''. In 1854, Luther traversed the pass by

covered wagon A covered wagon, also called a prairie wagon, whitetop, or prairie schooner, is a horse-drawn or ox-drawn wagon used for passengers or freight hauling. It has a canvas, tarpaulin, or waterproof sheet which is stretched over removable wooden ...

; he was also involved in later efforts to use the pass as the route for the

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete most of the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North Americ ...

. The initial route for the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. During its 18 months of opera ...

across the Sierra Nevada in 1860 connected Placerville and Lake Valley across Luther pass to Woodfords and thence to Nevada, but the route was quickly changed to use the

Kingsbury Grade State Route 207 (SR 207) is an State highway#United States, state highway in western Douglas County, Nevada, Douglas County, Nevada, United States. Commonly known as the Kingsbury Grade, it is one of three Nevada highways that connect the ...

instead. Nowadays, during the ski season, the pass serves as an important connection between

South Lake Tahoe South Lake Tahoe is the most populous incorporated city in El Dorado County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The city's population was 21,330 at the 2020 census, down from 21,403 at the 2010 census. The city, along the ...

and

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

, to the north of the pass, and the Kirkwood ski area to the south. In the summer, Luther Pass forms part of a route from Placerville and Route 50 to U.S. Route 395 and the eastern Sierra, via

Monitor Pass Monitor Pass (el. 8,314 ft / 2,534 m) is a high mountain pass in California in the Sierra Nevada southeast of Lake Tahoe. It is traversed by State Route 89 near that highway's southern terminus at U.S. Route 395 near the community of Topaz. ...

, but this route is closed in the winter. , Caltrans, 2002.

References

{{reflist Landforms of Alpine County, California Landforms of El Dorado County, California Mountain passes of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Pony Express