Lolo Pass,

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''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 equipotenti ...

, is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

, in the

Bitterroot Range The Bitterroot Range is a mountain range and a subrange of the Rocky Mountains that runs along the border of Montana and Idaho in the northwestern United States. The range spans an area of and is named after the bitterroot (''Lewisia rediviva ...

of the northern

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 great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

. It is on the border between the

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, approximately west-southwest of

Missoula Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot River, Bitterroot and Blackfoot River (Montana), ...

, Montana. The pass is the highest point of the historic Lolo Trail, between the

Bitterroot Valley The Bitterroot Valley is located in southwestern Montana, along the Bitterroot River between the Bitterroot Range and Sapphire Mountains, in the Northwestern United States. Geography The valley extends approximately from Lost Trail Pass in I ...

in Montana and the

Weippe Prairie Weippe Prairie is a large clearing, a "beautiful upland prairie field of about two by three miles bordered by farmland made from cleared pine forests", just north of the Middle Fork Clearwater River at 3,000 feet elevation near the town of ...

in Idaho. The trail, known as naptnišaqs, or "Nez Perce Trail" in

Salish Salish () may refer to: * Salish peoples, a group of First Nations/Native Americans ** Coast Salish peoples, several First Nations/Native American groups in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest ** Interior Salish peoples, several First Na ...

, was used by

Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...

in the 18th century, and by the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

, guided by Old Toby of the

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...

, on their westward snowbound journey in September 1805. After a winter at

Fort Clatsop Fort Clatsop was the encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the Oregon Country near the mouth of the Columbia River during the winter of 1805–1806. Located along the Lewis and Clark River at the north end of the Clatsop Plains approxi ...

in present-day northwestern

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, the Corps of Discovery returned the following June. The Lolo Trail is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

, designated for its importance to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and its role in the 1877

Nez Perce War The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the ''Palouse'' tribe led by Red Echo (''Hahtalekin'') and ...

. The name of the pass is sometimes said to have been Salish version of the French name ''Laurence'' or ''Laurent'', but was probably a regular French nickname. The name Lolo was not used by Lewis and Clark. Its first known mention is in the 1810 journal of David Thompson, who described three fur trappers, probably of French descent, named Michael, Lolo, and Gregoire. The pass was also used in 1877 during the

as some of the Nez Perce under

Chief Joseph ''Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt'' (or ''hinmatóowyalahtq̓it'' in Americanist orthography; March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904), popularly known as Chief Joseph, Young Joseph, or Joseph the Younger, was a leader of the wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) ...

tried to escape the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. Shortly after crossing the pass, the two sides clashed at the

Battle of the Big Hole The Battle of the Big Hole was fought in Montana Territory, August 9–10, 1877, between the United States Army and the Nez Perce tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans during the Nez Perce War. Both sides suffered heavy c ...

in Montana. U.S. Highway 12, belatedly completed in 1962, crosses the pass. At the August dedication ceremony at Lolo Pass attended by thousands, the states' governors, Bob Smylie of Idaho and

Tim Babcock Timothy Milford Babcock (October 27, 1919 – April 7, 2015) was an American politician, the List of Governors of Montana, 16th Governor of the state of Montana, from 1962 to 1969. Early life Babcock was born in Littlefork, Minnesota, the s ...

of Montana, cut through a ceremonial

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae * Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona ...

log with a two-man

crosscut saw A crosscut saw (thwart saw) is any saw designed for cutting wood perpendicular to (across) the wood grain. Crosscut saws may be small or large, with small teeth close together for fine work like woodworking or large for coarse work like log b ...

. Lolo Hot Springs is east of the pass in Montana. The first limited services in Idaho are in Powell, to the west of the pass, then another to Lowell, at the confluence of the Lochsa and

Selway River The Selway River is a large tributary of the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River in the U.S. state of Idaho. It flows within the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, the Bitterroot National Forest, and the Nez Perce National Forest of North Central ...

s to form the Middle Fork of the Clearwater. The primary city in Idaho served by U.S. 12 is Lewiston, west of the pass at the border with

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, where the Clearwater meets the

Snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

. On March 1, 2014, the

Idaho Department of Fish and Game The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) is the Idaho state department which is responsible for preserving and managing Idaho's wildlife, including mammals, fish, birds, plants, and invertebrates. History The Idaho Department of Fish and ...

announced that 23 wolves had been killed in the Lolo Pass area, in order to boost elk populations. Nez Perce Trail Historical Marker, Lolo Pass.jpg, Nez Perce Trail Historical Marker, Lolo Pass 2017 Lolo Pass walking trail.jpg, Lolo Pass walking trail 2017 File:Lolo Pass Apr 2008.jpg, Lolo Pass, Montana side, approaching summit, westbound Winter Road Montana.jpg, Entering Montana from Lolo Pass File:Lolo Pass Visitor's Center.jpg, Lolo Pass visitor center File:FEMA - 8293 - Photograph by Andrea Booher taken on 08-18-2003 in Montana.jpg, Forest fire near Lolo Pass, 2003 File:Lochsa River.jpg,

Lochsa River The Lochsa River is in the northwestern United States, in the mountains of north central Idaho. It is one of two primary tributaries (with the Selway to the south) of the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River in the Clearwater National Forest ...

, west of Lolo Pass File:PackerMeadowscamas.JPG, Camas blooming at Packer Meadows, near Lolo Pass, Idaho

References

External links

National Park Service: Lolo Pass Visitor Center and Rest AreaIdaho Transportation Dept.
- webcam - Lolo Pass
Idaho Transportation Dept.
- roadside historical marker - Lolo Summit
Lolo Pass Visitor Information Center

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lolo Pass (Idaho-Montana) Landforms of Idaho County, Idaho Landforms of Missoula County, Montana Mountain passes of Idaho Mountain passes of Montana National Historic Landmarks in Idaho National Historic Landmarks in Montana Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana Borders of Idaho Borders of Montana Mountains Ranges and Peaks in Missoula County, Montana Transportation in Missoula County, Montana Transportation in Idaho County, Idaho Clearwater National Forest National Register of Historic Places in Idaho County, Idaho National Register of Historic Places in Missoula County, Montana U.S. Route 12 Trails and roads in the American Old West Bitterroot Range Chinook Jargon place names

See also

References

External links