San Gorgonio Pass
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| San Gorgonio Pass | |
|---|---|
 A small segment of the San Gorgonio Pass wind farm |
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| Elevation | 2,600 ft. (790 m) |
| Location | California,  United States |
| Range | San Bernardino Mountains / San Jacinto Mountains |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Traversed by | Interstate 10 |
San Gorgonio Pass (el. 2,600 ft. / 790 m) cuts between the San Bernardino Mountains on the north and the San Jacinto Mountains to the south. Like the Cajon Pass to the northwest, it was also created by the San Andreas Fault. The San Gorgonio Pass provides the main link between the Los Angeles Basin and the Coachella Valley and points further east. The pass itself is not as steep as the Cajon Pass or the Tejon Pass (the Grapevine), but it is still one of the deepest mountain passes in the 48 contiguous states, with the mountains to either side rising almost 9,000 ft. (2,750 m) above the pass. San Gorgonio Mountain is at the pass's northern end, and Mount San Jacinto is at the pass's southern end. Mount San Jacinto also has the fifth-largest rock wall in North America and the peak is only six miles south of Interstate 10.
[edit] Roads
Interstate 10 and State Route 60 (former U.S. Route 60) intersect at the western end of the pass in Beaumont and it climbs through Banning before reaching Cabazon, where it begins its descent towards the Coachella Valley. The eastern end of the pass is at the junction of Interstate 10 and State Route 111 near Whitewater Canyon. The Southern Pacific Railroad (now the Union Pacific) laid down tracks through the pass in 1875, and in 1952 an expressway was built through the pass, carrying U.S. Route 99 and U.S. Route 60. There are still portions of the old US 99 route between Whitewater Canyon and Cabazon, and Ramsey Street in Banning and 6th Street in Beaumont are actually old US 99.
The most famous sight on San Gorgonio Pass is the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm on its eastern slope, as it marks the gateway into the Coachella Valley. The pass is one of the windiest places in Southern California.
