Nez Perce Pass is a mountain pass in the

Bitterroot Mountains The Northern and Central Bitterroot Range, collectively the Bitterroot Mountains ( Salish: čkʷlkʷqin), is the largest portion of the Bitterroot Range, part of the Rocky Mountains and Idaho Batholith, located in the panhandle of Idaho and we ...

on the border between the U.S. states of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

and

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 Columb ...

. The pass is at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

of above sea level. The Nez Perce Pass Trailhead offers access to the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and the

Frank Church—River of No Return Wilderness Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

. The pass is located "between Wildernesses nearly twice as large as the combined states of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

," on what is "probably one of the wildest roads in the United States."

To the north is the 1.2-million-acre Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and to the south the 2.2-million-acre Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. These areas comprise over 11% of the Congressionally established
Wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
in the 48 contiguous states.

A sign honoring Doris Milner of

Hamilton, Montana Hamilton is a city that serves as the county seat of Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 4,659 at the 2020 census. History Hamilton was founded by copper king Marcus Daly in the late 19th century. It was named for J.W. H ...

, "graces the Montana side" of the pass. "A sign honoring Idaho Senator Frank Church identifies the Idaho side ... Both Milner and Church helped add thousands of square miles of Montana and Idaho forest to the nation's wilderness system." Forest Road 468, Nez Perce Road, also known as Magruder Corridor Road, crosses the pass. It is unpaved, and has no services for 117 miles. "The road has changed little since its construction by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC) during the 1930s. It has been known by several names, such as The Southern Nez Perce Trail, The Elk City to Darby Road, The Montana Road, and The Parker Trail." "The landscape is much the same as when the

Nez Perce The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, K ...

and early travelers crossed the area." "From

Darby, Montana Darby ( Salish: snk̓ʷɫxʷexʷem̓i, "Place Where They Would Lift Something") is a town in Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 783 at the 2020 census. Darby is located near the southwestern border of Montana and Idaho, al ...

travel south 4.3 miles on

Highway 93 Route 93 or Highway 93 can refer to: International * European route E93 Australia - Victoria Canada * Alberta Highway 93 * British Columbia Highway 93 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 93 * Ontario Highway 93 China * G93 Chengyu Ring Expr ...

, turn south on the West Fork Road and proceed for approximately 14.3 miles. Turn west (right) on Forest Road 468, Nez Perce Road and travel for approximately 16.1 miles" to Nez Perce Pass trailhead." The paved parking area at the pass has a

helicopter pad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard ...

. Nez Perce Pass marks a change in

time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude, because it ...

, from

Pacific time The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00). ...

in northern Idaho to

Mountain time The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The cloc ...

in Montana.

References

External links

*
Preliminary Geologic Map of the Nez Perce Pass 30' x 60' Quadrangle, Southwestern Montana, 1996
{{Authority control Mountain passes of Idaho Mountain passes of Montana Nez Perce tribe Landforms of Idaho County, Idaho Landforms of Ravalli County, Montana Borders of Idaho Borders of Montana Transportation in Idaho County, Idaho Transportation in Ravalli County, Montana

See also

References

External links