Gore Pass (el. 2903 m./9527 ft.) is a high
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 ...
in the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
of northwestern
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
The pass crosses a gap in the northern end of the
Gore Range
The Gore Range (elevation approximately 12,000 ft) is a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of north central Colorado in the United States.
Geography
The range runs for approximately 60 miles (100 km) northwest-to-southeast, through ...
in southwestern
Grand County west of
Kremmling. The pass provides the route of
State Highway 134 east of
Toponas
Toponas is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Routt County, Colorado, Routt County, Colorado, United States.
Description
The community took its name from nearby Toponas Rock. The population in 2010 was 48; in 2017 it is estim ...
, furnishing a motor vehicle route between
Middle Park and the valley of the
Yampa River
The Yampa River flows through northwestern Colorado in the United States. Rising in the Rocky Mountains, it is a tributary of the Green River (Colorado River), Green River and a major part of the Colorado River system. The Yampa is one of the f ...
to the west. It has a mild approach to the west, while the east side has a moderate 5.4% grade.
Gore Pass is named for Sir St. George Gore, an Irish baronet from Sligo whose sole purpose was to break records and fill his trophy room. In 1975, there was a sign on Colorado State Road Hwy 84 which read "GORE PASS, Altitude 9,000 feet. Here in 1855 crossed Sir St. George Gore, an Irish baronet bent on the slaughter of game and guided by Jim Bridger. For three years he scoured Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming, accompanied usually by fort men, many carts, wagons, hounds, and unexampled camp luxuries. More than 2,000 buffalo, 1,600 deer and elk, and 100 bears were massacred for sport." Readers are referred to pages 305-312 of the book, "The Trail of Tears (The Story of the American Indian Removals 1813-1855" by Gloria Jahoda, 1975.
["The Trail of Tears (The Story of the American Indian Removals 1813-1855" by Gloria Jahoda, 1975]
The
Rock Creek Stage Station, at Gore Pass, is a historic log building which is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Climate
Buffalo Park is a
SNOTEL 300px, Data from a SNOTEL site in Elko County, Nevada
SNOTEL is an automated system of snowpack and related climate sensors operated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United States Department of Agriculture in the Weste ...
weather station near Gore Pass.
References
External links
USGS TopoZone listing
Mountain passes of Colorado
Landforms of Grand County, Colorado
Transportation in Grand County, Colorado
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