America’s Historic Roads
Puzzle 33 · Mountain Passes and Wagon Roads · Page 53 in print
South Pass
South Pass gave wagons a broad, gently rising crossing of the Rockies, rather than a narrow notch.
Jump to a word
The words
Atlantic
Ocean on the eastern side of the drainage divide.
Charles Gould
Traveler who described the pass in his diary.
Crow
Indigenous guides who helped Smith cross in 1824.
Park Service: Jedediah Smith - Bighorn Canyon (opens a new tab)
Divide
The continental drainage divide crossed at South Pass.
Edwin Bryant
Traveler who described the ascent in 1846.
Eliza Spalding
Missionary who crossed South Pass in 1836.
Plateau
Gradually ascending landform of the crossing.
Prairie
Open terrain Gould described at the pass.
Rockies
The mountain range crossed at South Pass.
Sage
Plant cover described on the South Pass saddle.
South Pass
Broad crossing of the Rocky Mountains.
Stagecoaches
Passenger vehicles that crossed the pass.
Telegraph
Long-distance wired communication crossing the pass.
Wagon Swales
Surviving depressions left by wagon traffic at the original South Pass crossing.
Wyoming
Location of the historic pass.
Sources
- South PassNational Park Service
- Jedediah Smith - Bighorn Canyon National Recreation AreaNational Park Service
- South Pass - California National Historic TrailNational Park Service