Deer Lodge Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass 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, not ...

in southwestern

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, about 11 miles southwest of

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...

. It is traversed by

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border i ...

and is one of three crossings of the Divide by I-15 (all in Montana), the others being

Monida Pass Monida Pass is a high mountain pass in the northern Rocky Mountains of the western United States, at an elevation of above sea level on Interstate 15, and on the Union Pacific Railroad. On the Continental Divide in the Bitterroot Range, it ...

(on the border with Idaho) and

Elk Park Pass Elk Park Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass on the Continental Divide in southwestern Montana, about northeast of Butte. It is traversed by Interstate 15 and is one of three crossings of the Divide by the Interstate (all in Montana), the othe ...

north of Butte. Unlike most other passes in western Montana, Deer Lodge Pass is in the midst of treeless, rolling hills (reminiscent of

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

in Wyoming), and the grades on the highway are relatively gentle. About west of the highway crossing is a slightly lower pass, elevation , that carries a branch line of 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 Paci ...

across the Divide. This is sometimes also referred to as Deer Lodge Pass, but the official railroad name for this location is Feely. The railroad line connects

Silver Bow, Montana Silver Bow is a neighborhood in Butte, Montana, United States. It lies near the interchange of Interstate 15 and Interstate 90, near Rocker. It is the location of a major rail junction on the Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Norther ...

with

Idaho Falls, Idaho Idaho Falls (Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: Dembimbosaage) is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state's largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Un ...

and is a remnant of the

Utah and Northern Railway The Utah & Northern Railway is a defunct railroad that was operated in the Utah Territory and later in the Idaho Territory and Montana Territory in the western United States during the 1870s and 1880s. It was the first railroad in Idaho and in M ...

, completed over the pass in 1881 and converted to standard gauge five years later.

References

{{reflist Landforms of Silver Bow County, Montana Rail mountain passes of the United States Mountain passes of Montana