Cajon Pass
Mountain pass in Southern California / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Cajon Pass (/kəˈhoʊn/; Spanish: Puerto del Cajón or Paso del Cajón)[2][3] is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the San Gabriel Mountains to the west in Southern California. Created by the movements of the San Andreas Fault, it has an elevation of 3,777 ft (1,151 m).[1] Located in the Mojave Desert,[4] the pass is an important link from the Greater San Bernardino Area to the Victor Valley, and northeast to Las Vegas. The Cajon Pass area is on the Pacific Crest Trail.[5]
| Cajon Pass | |
|---|---|
| Spanish: Puerto del Cajón, Paso del Cajón | |
 I-15 passing over Cajon Summit | |
| Elevation | 3,777 ft (1,151 m)[1] |
| Traversed by |  SR 138 US 66 (until 1979) US 91 (until 1974) US 395 (until 1979)Union Pacific Railroad/BNSF Railway/Amtrak  I-15 (indirectly) |
| Location | San Bernardino County, California, United States |
| Range | San Bernardino Mountains/San Gabriel Mountains |
| Coordinates | 34°19′33″N 117°25′42″W |
  Cajon Pass (California) Show map of California | |
Cajon Pass is at the head of Horsethief Canyon, traversed by California State Route 138 (SR 138) and railroad tracks owned by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad. Improvements in 1972 reduced the railroad's maximum elevation from about 3,829 to 3,777 feet (1,167 to 1,151 m)[1][6] while reducing curvature. Interstate 15 does not traverse Cajon Pass, but rather the nearby Cajon Summit, 34°20′58″N 117°26′47″W,[citation needed] The entire area, Cajon Pass and Cajon Summit, is often referred to as Cajon Pass,[7][8] but a distinction is made between Cajon Pass and Cajon Summit.[9]
In 1851, a group of Mormon settlers led by Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich traveled through Cajon Pass in covered wagons on their way from Salt Lake City to southern California. A prominent rock formation in the pass, where the Mormon Road and the railway merge (at 34.3184°N 117.4920°W / 34.3184; -117.4920, near Sullivan's Curve), is known as Mormon Rocks.
