Monida Pass

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
Coordinates	44°33′31″N 112°18′20″W / 44.55861°N 112.30556°W / 44.55861; -112.30556

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]

Monida Pass

location of Monida Pass

A disused barn
on Monida Pass

Humphrey, Idaho

Monida, Montana

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]

See also

• Mountain passes in Montana

References

1. ^ US-Highways.com - Montana Interstates. - retrieved 2007-03-04.
2. ^ UltimateMontana.com. retrieved 2008-04-24.
3. ^ Idaho Museum of Natural History - Digital Atlas of Idaho - Rocks, Rails & Trails - Part 3, History of Eastern Idaho - "The Gold Road & the Coming of the Railroads," Page 54. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
4. ^ Montana Code Annotated 2005 - 60-1-203. Veterans memorial highway. Retrieved 4 March 2007.

• Ferrel, Hauck, Myers (1981). Colorado Rail Annual No. 15. the Colorado Railroad Museum. US 0-918654-15-7. 
• Idaho: A Climbing Guide - 76. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
• USDA Forest Service - Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest - Cultural Resources - Historic Period. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
• Idaho Museum of Natural History - Digital Atlas of Idaho - "A Brief Introduction to Idaho." Retrieved 4 March 2007.

External links

• Montana Dept. of Transportation - webcam - Monida Pass

Coordinates: 44°33′31″N 112°18′20″W / 44.55861°N 112.30556°W / 44.55861; -112.30556