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Fremont Pass (Colorado)
Encyclopedia
Fremont Pass is a high mountain pass
in the Rocky Mountains
of central Colorado
in the United States
.
It forms the continental divide
on the border between Lake County
and Summit County
. The pass is named for John C. Fremont
, an explorer of the American West who discovered the pass while traversing present-day Colorado during the 1840s. The pass provides a route between the upper valley of the Blue River
, a tributary of the Colorado River, with the headwaters of the Arkansas River
to the south. The pass summit is the site of Climax Mine
, a molybdenum
mine. The pass is traversed by State Highway 91
.
Despite being one of the highest mountain passes in the state, the only steep part is the switchback on the final ascent toward the Climax mine on the south side. The rest of the pass is gentle.
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 Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
of central Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
It forms the continental divide
Continental divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea...
on the border between Lake County
Lake County, Colorado
Lake County is one of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The highest natural point in Colorado and the entire Rocky Mountains is the summit of Mount Elbert in Lake County at 14,440 feet elevation. The county population was 7,812 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat...
and Summit County
Summit County, Colorado
Summit County is the 19th most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 23,538 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Breckenridge...
. The pass is named for John C. Fremont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
, an explorer of the American West who discovered the pass while traversing present-day Colorado during the 1840s. The pass provides a route between the upper valley of the Blue River
Blue River (Colorado)
The Blue River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Colorado.It rises in southern Summit County, on the western side of the continental divide in the Ten Mile Range, near Quandary Peak. It flows north past Blue River and Breckenridge, then through the...
, a tributary of the Colorado River, with the headwaters of the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
to the south. The pass summit is the site of Climax Mine
Climax mine
The Climax mine, located in Climax, Colorado, United States, was a major molybdenum mine in Lake and Summit counties, Colorado. In its heyday, the Climax mine was the largest molybdenum mine in the world, and for many years it supplied three-fourths of the world's supply of molbdenum...
, a molybdenum
Molybdenum
Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...
mine. The pass is traversed by State Highway 91
Colorado State Highway 91
State Highway 91 is a stretch of highway in Colorado that connects Leadville to Interstate 70 at Copper Mountain.-Route description:SH 91 stretches , starting at its southern junction with U.S. Highway 24 near Leadville. It runs northeast over Fremont Pass, passing the ghost town of Climax, home...
.
Despite being one of the highest mountain passes in the state, the only steep part is the switchback on the final ascent toward the Climax mine on the south side. The rest of the pass is gentle.