Bozeman Pass

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Bozeman Pass
Historical marker placed at Bozeman Pass on Interstate 90.
Elevation	1743 m./5819 ft.
Location	Montana, United States
Range	Rocky Mountains
Coordinates	45°40.0′N, 110°48.4′W
Traversed by	Interstate 90

Bozeman Pass (el. 1743 m./5819 ft.) is a mountain pass situated approximately 13 miles east of the town of Bozeman, Montana and just west of the town of Livingston, Montana.

It is named after pioneer John Bozeman, a young Georgian who opened a trail from Fort Laramie, Wyoming to Virginia City, Montana in 1863, via the pass which now bears his name. The pass is part of a transcontinental railroad route that was used by Northern Pacific Railway to connect Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest by rail. The Northern Pacific opened a 3,652 foot tunnel under the Pass in 1884. A shorter 3,015 foot tunnel just north of the original opened in 1945. The line is now used by Montana Rail Link.

Sacagawea, the Shoshone woman who guided parts of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (the Corps of Discovery), led Captain William Clark and his party of ten men through the pass on July 15, 1806. They were eastward bound and planned to explore the Yellowstone River to its mouth, where they were to rejoin Captain Meriwether Lewis and party, who were returning eastward via the Missouri River.

West portals of Bozeman Pass tunnels built by the Northern Pacific Railway. The original 1884 tunnel (abandoned) is on the right, while the newer 1945 tunnel is on the left (now used by Montana Rail Link).