| Monida Pass | |
|---|---|
Beaver Canyon |
|
| Elevation | 6,870 ft (2,094 m) |
| Traversed by | I-15 |
| Location | |
| Location | Clark County, Idaho / Beaverhead County, Montana, United States |
| Range | Bitterroot Range, Rocky Mountains |
Monida Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of the northwestern United States, at an elevation of 6870 feet (2094 m) above sea level on Interstate 15.[1]
On the continental divide in the Bitterroot Range, it marks the divide between the Beaverhead Mountains and the Centennial Mountains.
Its name is derived from the states it separates, "Mon" from Montana and "-ida" from Idaho.[2]
The pass forms part of the border between eastern Idaho and southwestern Montana, between the towns of Spencer in Clark County and Lima in Beaverhead County. On the Idaho side is Beaver Creek running through Beaver Canyon, Idaho, which was the route of the Utah and Northern Railway in 1880 and is still used by Union Pacific Railroad.[3]
Union Pacific once had an icemaking plant at Humphrey, Idaho, which is now a ghost town; Monida, Montana, which is near the top of the pass, is also almost a ghost town. Only seven people now live in Monida. Its elevation is 6820 feet (2079 m), 50 feet (15 m) below the pass on I-15.
In the late 19th century stagecoaches ferried tourists from the railroad at Monida Pass to Yellowstone National Park, until UP built a branch line to the park. Interstate 15, "Veterans Memorial Highway," starts in Montana at the Idaho border at Monida Pass and runs north to the international boundary with Canada at Sweetgrass.[4]