Eagle Pass (elevation ) 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 ...
through the
Gold Range
The Gold Range is a subrange of the Monashee Mountains in the southern British Columbia Interior. This range originally applied to all of the Monashees between the Arrow Lakes and the Okanagan but today only applies to a narrow stretch of the Mo ...
of the
Monashee Mountains
The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range lying mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch from north to south and from east to west. They are a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. The highes ...
in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada. It divides the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
from that of the
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...
(via the
Shuswap Lakes
Shuswap Lake (pronounced /ˈʃuːʃwɑːp/) is a lake located in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada that drains via the Little Shuswap River into Little Shuswap Lake. Little Shuswap Lake is the source of the South Thompson River, ...
and the
Thompson River
The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches, the South Thompson River and the North Thompson River. The river ...
).
Eagle Pass was chosen as the route of the
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
(CPR), and later the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...
, over the Monashees. The line over the Eagle Pass was the last section of the CPR to be completed; the last spike was driven at a location known as
Craigellachie in 1885.
The pass was discovered by
Walter Moberly in his role as Assistant Surveyor General of British Columbia in 1865.
The nearest city to Eagle Pass is
Revelstoke, 20 kilometres to the east.
See also
*
Eagle River (Shuswap)
The Eagle River is a river in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
The river was named by Walter Moberly after following the flight of eagles and finding Eagle Pass.
Course
The Eagle River originates in the mountains west of Revelstoke ...
References
Mountain passes of British Columbia
Columbia Country
Shuswap Country
Canadian Pacific Railway facilities
Rail mountain passes of British Columbia
Monashee Mountains
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