Blue Mesa Summit
Blue Mesa Summit
Elevation8,704 ft (2,653 m)[1]
Traversed by US 50
LocationGunnison County, Colorado
Coordinates38°23′10″N 107°26′01″W / 38.386220°N 107.433576°W / 38.386220; -107.433576 (Blue Mesa Summit)
Topo mapUSGS Curecanti Needle
Blue Mesa Summit is located in Colorado
Blue Mesa Summit
Blue Mesa Summit
Colorado

Blue Mesa Summit (elevation 8,704 feet (2,653 m)) is a mountain pass in Gunnison County of west-central Colorado. The pass is traversed by U.S. Route 50 and divides the watersheds of Little Cimarron River to the west and Blue Creek to the east.[1]

History

Blue Mesa Summit had long been used by Utes, trappers, and explorers who were traveling between the Gunnison Valley to the east and the Uncompahgre Valley to the west. By the mid-1870s, mining in the San Juan Mountains resulted in the construction of trails and wagon roads connecting the increasing number of new mining camps and growing towns. Road builder Otto Mears had constructed the Saguache and San Juan Toll Road connecting the towns of Saguache and Lake City in 1874. Needed was a road connecting this route to the mining town of Ouray to the west. Mears’ new Lake Fork and Uncompahgre Toll Road was opened in 1878, and it followed the established trail over Blue Mesa Summit.[1][2][3]

In the 1930s, the newly designated U.S. Route 50 was routed over Blue Mesa Summit and the location follows closely the historic toll road over the pass.[4][5][6]


References

  1. 1 2 3 Helmuth, Ed; Helmuth, Gloria (1994). The Passes of Colorado: An Encyclopedia of Watershed Divides. Boulder, Colorado: Pruett Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87108-841-X.
  2. ↑ Vandenbusche, Duane (1980). The Gunnison Country. Gunnison, Colorado: B&B Printers. LCCN 80-070455.
  3. ↑ O’Rourke, Paul M. Frontier in Transition: A History of Southwestern Colorado. Cultural Resources Series: 10. Bureau of Land Management Colorado. p. 68. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Edlund, Jr., Alvin (January 1999). "Coast to Coast on U.S. Highway 50: A Brief History of America's Backbone (aka 'The Loneliest Road in America') and How It Came To Pass in Central Colorado". Colorado Central Magazine. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Uncompahgre Quadrangle, Colorado (Map). 1:250,000. Washington, D. C.: United States Geological. 1908. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  6. ↑ Curecanti Needle, Colorado (Map). 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Washington, D. C.: United States Geological. 1956. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
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