Bridger Pass

This article is about the pass over the Sierra Madre Range in south-central Wyoming. For the nearby railroad (Bridgers Pass[1]) and Interstate 80 summits about 16 miles NNE of Bridger Pass, see Great Divide Basin. For other uses, see Bridger Trail.
Bridger Pass[2]
Bridger's Pass[3]
Name origin: Jim Bridger
Elevation 7,532 ft (2,296 m)[4]
Traversed by

Stansbury Expedition
Cherokee Trail

Overland Trail
Range Sierra Madre (Wyoming)
Coordinates 41°33′02″N 107°26′05″W / 41.5505°N 107.4347°W
Bridger's Pass
Nearest city Rawlins, Wyoming
Coordinates 41°33′3″N 107°26′4″W / 41.55083°N 107.43444°WCoordinates: 41°33′3″N 107°26′4″W / 41.55083°N 107.43444°W
Area less than one acre
Built 1850
NRHP Reference # 70000669[5]
Added to NRHP April 28, 1970

Bridger Pass is a mountain pass in Carbon County, Wyoming on the Continental Divide near the south Great Divide Basin bifurcation point, i.e., the point at which the divide appears to split and envelop the basin.

The first documented crossing of Bridger Pass was by the Stansbury Expedition, returning east from an expedition to Utah and guided by Jim Bridger.[3] A decade later the pass was in regular use by travelers on the Overland Trail and the associated stage line, these having been established along the route described by Stansbury and known since that time as the Cherokee Trail. To support the stage line, the Bridger Stage Station was established near the pass. The Overland Trail was used steadily between 1860 and 1869 until the First Transcontinental Railroad made the stage line obsolete.

Hiking along Bridger Pass Road in the Divide Basin

In modern times, the official route of the Continental Divide Trail uses Bridger Pass Road to Navigate the Great Divide Basin between Battle Pass on Wyoming Highway 70 to Rawlins, Wyoming. A challenge to hikers is the lack of potable water along this section due to the brackish nature (salinity) of water in the basin.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Wells, C H (December 7, 1867). "Profile of Pacific Railroad". Harper's Weekly. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  2. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bridger Pass
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Barnhart, Bill (historian) (Dec 19, 1969). "Bridger's Pass: Nomination Form" (pdf). NPS Focus (search). Wyoming Recreation Commission. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  4. ↑ "Bridger Pass, Wyoming, USGS 7.5 minute topographic map via TopoQuest". USGS. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  5. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13.
  6. ↑ Wyoming's Continental Divide Trail by Lora Davis - 2000
Bridger Pass is on the Continental Divide on the eastern edge of the Green River watershed. The river itself is more than 100 miles west of the pass.