Monida Pass is a high mountain pass in the northern

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 straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

of 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

on Interstate 15, and on the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

. 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, no ...

in the Bitterroot Range, it marks the transition between the Beaverhead Mountains and the Centennial Mountains. Its name is derived from the states that it separates, "Mon" from

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

and "-ida" from

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

. The pass forms part of the border between eastern

and southwestern

, and is between the towns of Spencer in Clark County and

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of t ...

in Beaverhead County. On the Idaho side is Beaver Creek running through Beaver Canyon, which was the route of the Utah and Northern Railway in 1880 and is still used by Union Pacific. Union Pacific once had an icemaking plant at Humphrey, Idaho, which is now a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

; Monida, Montana, which is near the top of the pass, is also almost a ghost town, as only seven people now live there at , below the pass Monida Stage coach garage

In the late 19th century,

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

es ferried tourists from the railroad at Monida Pass to

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is border ...

, until UP built a

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

to the park over Reas Pass.

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Canada, ...

, the "Veterans Memorial Highway," runs through the pass and north to the international boundary with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

at Sweetgrass.Montana Code Annotated 2005
-
. Retrieved 4 March 2007.

References

*
Idaho: A Climbing Guide

Retrieved 4 March 2007.
USDA Forest Service

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest
- - . Retrieved 4 March 2007.
Idaho Museum of Natural History

Digital Atlas of Idaho
-

" Retrieved 4 March 2007.

External links

Montana Dept. of Transportation
- webcam - Monida Pass {{Beaverhead County, Montana Mountain passes of Idaho Mountain passes of Montana Landforms of Beaverhead County, Montana Landforms of Clark County, Idaho Rail mountain passes of the United States Great Divide of North America Borders of Idaho Borders of Montana Transportation in Beaverhead County, Montana Transportation in Clark County, Idaho

See also

References

External links