The Gaviota Tunnel (officially known as the Gaviota Gorge Tunnel) is a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

on U.S. Route 101 and

California State Route 1 State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north–south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of the U.S. state of California. At , it is the longest state route in California, and the second-longest in the US after Monta ...

completed in 1953 in the center of

Gaviota State Park Gaviota State Park is a state park of California, United States. It is located in southern Santa Barbara County, California, about west of the city of Santa Barbara. One of three state parks along the Gaviota Coast, it extends from the Pacif ...

, northwest of

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning " Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West ...

on the

Gaviota Coast The Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County, California is a rural coastline along the Santa Barbara Channel roughly bounded by the city of Goleta, California, Goleta on the south and the north boundary of the county on the north. This last undeve ...

. It is long and tall. Only the northbound lanes of US 101 pass through it, as the southbound lanes descend from Gaviota Pass through a narrow canyon to the west of the tunnel. Because it is the only major route between the

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

South Coast and the

Santa Ynez Valley The Santa Ynez Valley is located in Santa Barbara County, California, between the Santa Ynez Mountains to the south and the San Rafael Mountains to the north. The Santa Ynez River flows through the valley from east to west. The Santa Ynez Val ...

, bicycles are allowed through it. There is a

rest area A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names include motorway serv ...

for both southbound and northbound lanes on the southern end of the tunnel, the southernmost one along U.S. Route 101. There are frequent

rockslides A rockslide is a type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the bedding plane of failure passes through compacted rock and material collapses ''en masse'' and not in individual blocks. Note that a rockslide is similar to an avalanc ...

in the area, especially during and following

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

. Some of the hillsides and road cuts are covered in netting to prevent

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

. There are also fences made of netting along the roadway to stop rocks that do fall. An alternate bypass to this section of US 101 between Santa Barbara and Los Olivos is provided by State Route 154 (SR 154) capped by the

Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge The Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge in the Santa Ynez Mountains links Santa Barbara, California with Santa Ynez, California. The bridge is signed as part of State Route 154. It is currently the highest arch bridge in the U.S. state of California ...

near the summit of

San Marcos Pass San Marcos Pass (Chumash: ''Mistaxiwax'') is a mountain pass in the Santa Ynez Mountains in southern California. It is traversed by State Route 154. The pass crosses the Santa Ynez through a southwestern portion of Los Padres National Forest, ...

. SR 154 cuts directly between Santa Barbara and Los Olivos in a northwestern direction, whereas US 101 runs along the coast of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

about west before turning north passing through Buellton to meet up with SR 154 near Los Olivos.

History

Gaviota Pass is registered as

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

#248. On this site during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

on Christmas Day 1846, the Mexican Army waited to ambush the US forces of John C. Frémont. Fremont learned of their plans and instead crossed the

to capture Santa Barbara.

In popular culture

The Gaviota Tunnel was featured in ''The Graduate'', ''Wayne's World 2'', and ''Sideways''. But in the first film, Dustin Hoffman travel the wrong way through the tunnel. In the movie, they are supposed to be going southbound, but go through the tunnel in the northbound direction (the tunnel does not have any southbound lanes). In ''Wayne’s World 2'' and ''Sideways'', Mike Myers, Mike Meyers and Paul Giamatti with Thomas Haden Church are all heading north, and therefore pass through the tunnel in the correct northbound direction. The tunnel inspired in ''Grand Theft Auto V'' the fictional "Braddock Tunnel" that connects the town of Paleto Bay with the town of Grapeseed. The tunnel is featured in ''American Truck Simulator''.

California Historical Landmark

California Historical Landmark reads: :''NO. 248 GAVIOTA PASS - Here, on Christmas Day, 1846, natives and soldiers from the Presidio of Santa Barbara lay in ambush for Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont, U.S.A., and his battalion. Frémont learned of the plot and, guided by Benjamin Foxen and his son William, came instead over the San Marcos Pass, to capture Santa Barbara without bloodshed.'' californiahistoricallandmarks.com Landmark No. 248
/ref>

References

{{reflist, refs= As can be seen o
this map
the tunnel lies in the middle of the state park, though strictly speaking, US 101 is not actually part of the park. U.S. Route 101 Transportation buildings and structures in Santa Barbara County, California Tunnels completed in 1953 1953 establishments in California Santa Ynez Mountains Road tunnels in California Mountain passes of California

History

In popular culture

California Historical Landmark

See also

References