Altamont Pass
Encyclopedia
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
in the Diablo Range
Diablo Range
The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges. It is located in the eastern San Francisco Bay area south to the Salinas Valley area of northern California, the United States.-Geography:...
between Livermore
Livermore, California
Livermore is a city in Alameda County. The population as of 2010 was 80,968. Livermore is located on the eastern edge of California's San Francisco Bay Area....
in the Livermore Valley
Livermore Valley
The Livermore Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Alameda County, California, surrounding the city of Livermore in the Tri-Valley region. Both the AVA and the city are named after Robert Livermore, a landowner whose holdings encompassed the valley. The groundwater basin underlying the...
and Tracy
Tracy, California
Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, United States and an exurb of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 82,922 at the 2010 census.-History:...
in the San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
in Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
. The pass carries Interstate 580
Interstate 580 (California)
Interstate 580 is an 80-mile east–west Interstate Highway in Northern California. The heavily traveled spur route of Interstate 80 runs from San Rafael in the San Francisco Bay Area to Interstate 5 near Tracy in the Central Valley...
, heavily congested by Central Valley
California Central Valley
California's Central Valley is a large, flat valley that dominates the central portion of California. It is home to California's most productive agricultural efforts. The valley stretches approximately from northwest to southeast inland and parallel to the Pacific Ocean coast. Its northern half is...
suburbanization
Suburbanization
Suburbanization a term used to describe the growth of areas on the fringes of major cities. It is one of the many causes of the increase in urban sprawl. Many residents of metropolitan regions work within the central urban area, choosing instead to live in satellite communities called suburbs...
, Altamont Pass Road, which is the original alignment of US 50 before it was bypassed by the present I-580, and two railroad right-of-ways (ROWs).
Only one right-of-way is still in use: the old Western Pacific
Western Pacific Railroad
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California...
line, now owned by Union Pacific; it is today used for the Altamont Commuter Express
Altamont Commuter Express
The Altamont Commuter Express is a regional rail service in California connecting Stockton with San Jose....
, with service to Livermore
Livermore, California
Livermore is a city in Alameda County. The population as of 2010 was 80,968. Livermore is located on the eastern edge of California's San Francisco Bay Area....
, Pleasanton
Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, incorporated in 1894. It is a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area located about east of Oakland, and west of Livermore. The population was 70,285 at the 2010 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in...
, Fremont
Fremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
, and San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. The abandoned right-of-way was used by Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
, which is now part of Union Pacific. This line was the Bay Area's original connection to the transcontinental railroad
Transcontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad, or over those owned or controlled by multiple railway companies...
and was abandoned in 1984 in favor of trackage rights
Trackage rights
Trackage rights , running rights or running powers is an agreement whereby a railway company has the right to run its trains on tracks owned by another railway company....
on the ex-Western Pacific line.
The Altamont Pass area was home to the Altamont Speedway from 1966 to 2008, which was known for being the site of the 1969 Altamont Free Concert, a large concert marred by violence. The pass is also known for the Altamont Pass Wind Farm
Altamont Pass Wind Farm
The Altamont Pass Wind Farm is located in the Altamont Pass of the Diablo Range in Central California. It is one of the earliest wind farms in the United States. The wind farm is composed of 4930 relatively small wind turbines of various types, making it at one time the largest farm in the world in...
, one of the earliest in the United States.
History
From the time of the California Gold RushCalifornia Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
, what is now Altamont Pass was called Livermore's Pass after Robert Livermore
Robert Livermore
Robert Thomas Livermore was a rancher and landowner in the early days of California, whose holdings eventually formed the basis of the city that bears his name: Livermore, California....
the owner of the Rancho Las Positas
Rancho Las Positas
Rancho Las Positas was a Mexican land grant in present day Alameda County, California given in 1839 by governor Juan Alvarado to Robert Livermore and Jose Noriega. Las Positas means "little watering holes" in Spanish...
and a way station near the Pass. After the railroad was built through the pass in 1869, Altamont
Altamont, California
Altamont is an unincorporated community in Alameda County, California. It is located northeast of Livermore, at an elevation of 738 feet , in the Altamont Pass. It was in 1969 the site of the Altamont Free Concert at the Altamont Speedway...
, formerly The Summit, was estabished in 1872. Eventually the Pass took the name of the town.
See also
- Altamont Pass Wind FarmAltamont Pass Wind FarmThe Altamont Pass Wind Farm is located in the Altamont Pass of the Diablo Range in Central California. It is one of the earliest wind farms in the United States. The wind farm is composed of 4930 relatively small wind turbines of various types, making it at one time the largest farm in the world in...
- Mountain House
