Cerro Summit (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the

State of Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, 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 wes ...

, located about 14 miles east of

Montrose, Colorado Montrose is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,291 at the 2020 census, within a total area of 18.5 square miles. The ma ...

. It divides the watershed of the Cimmaron River to the east and the

Uncompahgre River The Uncompahgre River is a tributary of the Gunnison River, approximately 75 mi (121 km) long, in southwestern Colorado in the United States. Lake Como at 12,215 ft (3723m) in northern San Juan County, in the Uncompahgre National ...

to the west, both of which eventually flow into the

Gunnison River The Gunnison River is located in western Colorado, United States and is one of the largest tributaries of the Colorado River. Description The river flows east to west and has a drainage area of according to the USGS. The drainage basin of ...

. The summit is traversed by

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

. Until 1949, Cerro Summit was part of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad's Black Canyon line which ran between Gunnison and Montrose. When constructed in 1882, the route was originally part of the D&RGW's transcontinental line to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

and remained so until more direct routes were built in the early 20th century. Although grades on U.S. 50 are gentle, the former rail line over Cerro Summit had a

ruling gradient The term ruling grade is usually used as a synonym for "steepest climb" between two points on a railroad. More simply, the steepest grade to be climbed dictates how powerful the motive power (or how light the train) must be in order for the run ...

of 4% or 1 in 25 and it was not uncommon for most freight trains to require a

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

. Since 2015, Cerro Summit has been home to the Cerro Summit Recreation Area, an open space managed by the City of Montrose which features a network of hiking trails.

References

{{Reflist Mountain passes of Colorado Landforms of Montrose County, Colorado Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad