South
Pass was the most important landmark on the Oregon Trail;
the key to westward migration. Without South Pass, wagon
travel across the continent would have been impossible--and
Oregon and California would probably not have become a part
of the United States. Yet, there's
no narrow gorge here--this gap in the Rockies is miles wide.
Emigrant
Lorenzo Sawyer:
"Most emigrants have a very erroneous idea of South
Pass, and their inquiries about it are amusing enough. They
suppose it to be a narrow defile in the Rocky Mountains
walled by perpendicular rocks hundreds of feet high. The
fact is the pass is a valley some 20 miles wide."
South
Pass crossed the continental divide and hence marked the
boundary between the United States and Oregon Country. Even
though the emigrants werenow in Oregon, there was no reason
to celebrate. They were still only half-way to their destination.
There were a thousand miles yet to travel.
South
Pass Historic Site
Official site of the state of Wyoming
