Bozeman Pass el. 5,702 feet (1,738 m) is a
mountain pass situated approximately 13 miles (21 km) east of
Bozeman, Montana and approximately 15 miles (24 km) west of
Livingston, Montana on
Interstate 90 . It separates the
Bridger and
Gallatin mountain ranges.
It is named after pioneer
John Bozeman , a young Georgian who opened the
Bozeman 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 constructed by the
Northern Pacific Railway between
Saint Paul, Minnesota and
Tacoma, Washington . The Northern Pacific opened a 3,652 feet (1,113 m) tunnel under the Pass in 1884. A shorter 3,015 feet (919 m) tunnel just north of the original opened in 1945. The tracks are now used by
BNSF Railway .
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 .
[2]
[3]
Frank Jay Haynes image of NPR tracks entering Bozeman Pass, 1884
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 BNSF).
East portal of BNSF's Bozeman Pass tunnel.
See also
Notes
External links