Beckwourth Pass

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Beckwourth Pass
Elevation	5,221 ft. / 1,591 m
Location	California, United States
Range	Sierra Nevada
Coordinates	39°47′30″N, 120°6′28″W
Traversed by	State Route 70 and the Union Pacific Railroad

Beckwourth Pass (el. 5,221 ft. / 1,591 m) is the lowest mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It is located at the eastern edge of Plumas County, California near the small town of Chilcoot-Vinton. Beckwouth Pass is 20 miles east of Portola, California and 25 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada.

State Route 70 and the Union Pacific Railroad (formerly the Western Pacific) use the pass to cross the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The pass is approached from the west along the railroad's Feather River Route. Route 70 crosses over the pass; however, the railroad, in order to not exceed the maximum allowable rail grade, uses a tunnel that is constructed under the pass. The tunnel's western portal is located at the town of Chilcoot. Before the Western Pacific, a narrow gauge railroad, the Sierra Valley Railway, was built over the pass. It was abandoned in 1918, but its right of way is still visible around the pass, particularly south of Highway 70 on the eastern approach.

Beckwourth Pass is named in honor of mountain man, explorer and guide James P. Beckwourth, who is credited with the "discovery" of the pass in 1850. Beckwouth later developed his Beckwourth Trail which originated from Truckee Meadows (now the site of Sparks, Nevada) north to Beckwourth Pass and then west through Plumas, Butte and Yuba counties into California's great central valley terminating at Marysville, California.