Dunraven Pass (el. ) is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

on the

Grand Loop Road The Grand Loop Road is a historic district which encompasses the primary road system in Yellowstone National Park. Much of the system was originally planned by Captain Hiram M. Chittenden of the US Army Corps of Engineers in the early days of t ...

between Tower and Canyon in

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

History

In 1874, just two years after the park's creation, The 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

peer, made a visit to Yellowstone in conjunction with a hunting expedition to the Northern Rockies. Lord Dunraven was so impressed with the park, that he devoted well over 150 pages to Yellowstone in his
The Great Divide
', published in London by Chatto & Windus in 1876. ''The Great Divide'' was one of the earliest works to praise and publicize the park. In 1878 during a

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

of the park,

Henry Gannett Henry Gannett (August 24, 1846 – November 5, 1914) was an American geographer who is described as the "father of mapmaking in America."Evans, Richard Tranter; Frye, Helen M. (2009).History of the Topographic Branch (Division) (PDF). ''U.S. Geo ...

, a geographer working with the survey, named a peak just two miles southwest of

Mount Washburn Mount Washburn, elevation , is a prominent mountain peak in the Washburn Range in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The peak was named in 1870 to honor Henry D. Washburn, leader of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition. The Washburn Range ...

in the honor of the Earl of Dunraven and the service his book had done for the park. In 1879,

Philetus Norris Philetus W. Norris (August 17, 1821 – January 14, 1885) was the second superintendent of Yellowstone National Park and was the first person to be paid for that position. Early life Philetus Walter Norris was born in Palmyra, New York on Aug ...

, the park Superintendent, gave the pass on the Grand Loop Road between Tower and Canyon the name ''Dunraven'' because of its proximity to

Dunraven Peak Dunraven Peak el. is a mountain peak in the Washburn Range of Yellowstone National Park. In 1874, just two years after the park's creation, The 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, an Anglo-Irish peer, made a visit to Yellowstone in conjuncti ...

Notes

Mountain passes of Wyoming Landforms of Park County, Wyoming Landforms of Yellowstone National Park Transportation in Park County, Wyoming {{Wyoming-geo-stub