Union Pass
Union Pass | ||
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Elevation 9,212 ft (2,808 m)[1] | | |
Traversed by | Prehistoric | |
Location | Fremont County, Wyoming, US | |
Range | Wind River Range | |
Coordinates | 43°28′53″N 109°52′36″W / 43.48139°N 109.87667°W[2] | |
Topo map | USGS Fish Creek Park (WY) |
Union Pass | |
Location | Wind River Range |
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Nearest city | Dubois, Wyoming |
NRHP reference No. | 69000367 |
Added to NRHP | April 4, 1969 |
Union Pass is a high
The pass was named by
Location
Union Pass is located in the mountains of northwestern Wyoming. It is at an elevation of 9,210 feet (2,810 m). It is a hub from which three Wyoming Mountain Ranges radiate. The three separate directions – the Wind River Range to the southeast (Gannett Peak, 13,804 feet (4,207 m)), the Gros Ventre Range (Doubletop Peak, 11,720 feet (3,570 m)) to the west and the Absaroka Range to the north (Francs Peak, 13,153 feet (4,009 m)). The pass is 4,000 feet (1,200 m) lower than mountains around it. This provides easy passage among the headwaters of three river systems, the Colorado, the Columbia and the Missouri.[4]
An unimproved dirt road crosses the pass, connecting U.S. Route 287 near Dubois to U.S. Route 189 in Pinedale.
Native Americans
Reports from the fur trappers who first entered the mountains and those following mention the trail through the pass as being in long term us by the
Astorians – 1811
John Colter may have been the first easterner to visit the pass in 1807, but this is based on circumstantial evidence and is disputed by scholars.[4] Wilson Price Hunt, the Astorians overland to the mouth of the Columbia reported crossing Union Pass on September 15, 1811. This is the first record of the pass. The expedition guides were Edward Robinson, John Hoback and Jacob Rizner. Their previous participation in 1809 with the Henry expedition to the source of the Missouri River and back by way of the Green River it is accepted that the three had been through Union Pass, during the year 1810.[4]
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Historical marker describing first crossings.
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View of Union Pass
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Vicinity of the Historic marker for Union Pass on U.S. 26 & U.S. 287 in DuNoir with the Wind River Mtns in the background.
See also
References
- ^ Union Peak, WY (Map). Topoquest (USGS Quads). Retrieved May 8, 2011.
- ^ "Union Pass". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
- ISBN 1-4179-0456-9.
- ^ a b c d e Union Pass; Nedward M. Frost, historian, Wyoming Recreation Commission; National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form; United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service; Washington, D.C.; April 4, 1969
Bibliography
- Burton Harris. John Colter, His Years in the Rockies. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1952.
- Frances Fuller Victor. Eleven Years in the Rocky Mountains and Life on the Frontier. Columbian Book Company, Hartford Connecticut 1877. Published by Subscription.
- Webster's Geographic Dictionary—G. & C. Merriam Co. Springfield, Massachusetts, U. S. A.--1964.
- Hayden. U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories of Wyoming and Idaho 1878, Part I. Conducted under the authority of the Secretary of the Interior. Washington: Government Printing Office-1883.
- Washington Irving. Astoria. Clatsop Edition, Binfords & Mort, Publishers Portland Oregon—undated.
- Washington Irving. The Adventures of Captain Bonneville; edited and with introduction (and modern footnotes) by Edgeley W. Todd. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press-1961.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Union Pass at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office