The Ute Pass is a mountain pass west of

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

that ranges from a peak elevation at Divide of at its lowest point.

Geology

About 75,000 years ago glaciers moved down the sides of what became Pikes Peak. Over time, the ground also thrusted upward. The combination of the change in terrain from the moving tectonic plates and the sculpting of rock due to the moving boulders created the steep canyons of the Ute Pass entrance. From the entrance of Ute Pass at Manitou Springs and for about 5 miles, the terrain is steep canyon land and the road has many curves. The terrain becomes less steep, eventually becoming "gentle u-shaped valleys" near the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...

at Divide.

Geography

Ute Pass is located west of Colorado Springs, to the north of Pikes Peak and is located along

U.S. Highway 24 U.S. Route 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is in Independence Township, Mich ...

. From west to east, the pass traverses through Divide, Woodland Park,

Green Mountain Falls The Town of Green Mountain Falls is a Statutory Town located in El Paso and Teller counties of the U.S. of State of Colorado. The town population was 646 at the 2020 United States Census with 622 residents in El Paso County and 24 residents in ...

, Chipita Park and

Cascade Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science * Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls * Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex) * Cascade (grape), a type of fruit * B ...

. Its waters collect through the mountains of Ute Pass, through Fountain Creek canyon west of Manitou Springs and collect in Fountain Creek. File:Ute Pass 10.jpg, Ute Pass between Cascade and Woodland Park File:Ute Pass 2.jpg, Ute Pass west of Woodland Park UtePassSign.jpg, Ute Pass Summit sign

History

Ute Trail, which runs along the north side of Pikes Peak is believed to have first been a buffalo trail that delivered buffalo from the "milder winter pastures of the eastern plains" to the "lush, grassy" meadows of

South Park, Colorado South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

during the summer months. Joel Palmer wrote in his 1847 ''Journal of Travels over the Rocky Mountains'': "These (buffalo) paths are remarkable in their appearance, being about 15 inches wide, and four inches deep, and worn into the soil as smoothly as they could be cut with a spade." Stephen Harriman Long wrote of his 1820s travel through the Pikes Peak region that Ute Trail was used by bison and Native Americans. For the Utes, the trail and pass was used to transport salt from Bayou Salade, the salt valley of South Park, to Santa Fe and Taos for trade. The Ute's name for the pass was El Puerto del Sierra Almagre, which means "Doorway to the Red Earth Mountains". Ute Trail became a wagon road in the 1860s providing transport to Leadville mining camp. In 1872 the old wagon road through Ute Pass started at Rainbow Falls, or Ute Pass Falls. The

Colorado Midland Railway The Colorado Midland Railway ,Railway Equipment and Publication CompanyThe Official Railway Equipment Register June 1917, p. 786 incorporated in 1883, was the first standard gauge railroad built over the Continental Divide in Colorado. It ran fr ...

had tracks through the Ute Pass to Leadville and Aspen beginning in 1888. Service was later extended to Cripple Creek. Once the mining industry declined, the railroad tracks were removed. File:Ute Falls, in Ute Pass, Colorado - NARA - 517507.tif, Ute Falls in Ute Pass, by William Henry Jackson, 1873, Department of the Interior. File:Rainbow Falls, Ute Pass, Colorado (Boston Public Library).jpg, Rainbow Falls, Ute Pass, by Helen Henderson, 1878, Boston Public Library, Print Department In 1932 a new road was built that better accommodated automotive vehicles. Ute Pass is now along U.S. Highway 24, a four-lane highway, which partially obscured Rainbow Falls. Tourism began to be a major economic force in the late 19th century and towns along Ute Pass built cabins and hotels as a result. The pass at one time was used by stage coach and equestrian traffic. It is steep (7%) on the east side.

Ecological system

The climate is

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...

, so many plants that grow here are adapted to low water usage. Wildlife in the Ute Pass area includes

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally ...

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspe ...

, and especially during the summer and fall, black bear.

Ute Pass History Park

Ute Pass History Park is located at 231 E. Henrietta Avenue on the north side of Woodland Park. The Pikes Peak Museum comprises six buildings that tell the history of the pass, people who traversed it, and the communities founded along the pass. The buildings include the museum center, four cabins and a jailhouse, with exhibits that convey the lifestyle, industries, transportation, and communities along Ute Pass. Its exhibits includes information about the Ute people and early pioneers. File:Ute Pass 8.jpg File:Ute Pass 6.jpg

References

External links

Ute Pass History

Pikes Peak Museum at Ute Pass History Park
- Ute Pass Historical Society {{Authority control Mountain passes of Colorado U.S. Route 24 Landforms of El Paso County, Colorado Landforms of Teller County, Colorado Transportation in El Paso County, Colorado Transportation in Teller County, Colorado