Lizard Head Pass
Encyclopedia
Lizard Head Pass, elevation 10222 feet (3,116 m), is a mountain pass
in Colorado
traversed by State Highway 145. It is located 12 miles south of the Telluride
turnoff. The pass is named for a prominent nearby peak that is said to look like a lizard's head, the 13113 ft (3,997 m) spire of Lizard Head
. Though it has a mild approach on both sides, it was not easy to traverse for the historic Rio Grande Southern Railroad
grades that used to travel through this area, including the legendary Galloping Goose
.
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 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...
traversed by State Highway 145. It is located 12 miles south of the Telluride
Telluride, Colorado
The town of Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains...
turnoff. The pass is named for a prominent nearby peak that is said to look like a lizard's head, the 13113 ft (3,997 m) spire of Lizard Head
Lizard Head
Lizard Head is a mountain in Colorado, one of the 637 peaks above 13,000 feet in elevation in the state...
. Though it has a mild approach on both sides, it was not easy to traverse for the historic Rio Grande Southern Railroad
Rio Grande Southern Railroad
The Rio Grande Southern Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad which ran from Durango to Ridgway in the western part of the US state of Colorado...
grades that used to travel through this area, including the legendary Galloping Goose
Galloping Goose
Galloping Goose is the popular name given to a series of seven railcars, built in the 1930s by the Rio Grande Southern Railroad and operated until the end of service on the line in the early 1950s....
.
See also
- Dolores County, ColoradoDolores County, ColoradoDolores County is the seventh least populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 1,844 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Dove Creek.- History :...
- San Juan MountainsSan Juan MountainsThe San Juan Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado. The area is highly mineralized and figured in the gold and silver mining industry of early Colorado. Major towns, all old mining camps, include Creede, Lake City, Silverton, Ouray, and...
- San Juan National ForestSan Juan National ForestThe San Juan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering over 1,878,846 acres in Archuleta, Conjeos, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Montezuma, Rio Grande, San Miguel and San Juan Counties in western Colorado. It borders the Uncompahgre National Forest to the north and the Rio Grande...
- San Juan Skyway National Scenic Byway
- San Miguel County, ColoradoSan Miguel County, ColoradoSan Miguel County is one of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county is named for the San Miguel River. The county population was 6,594 at U.S. Census 2000...
- State of Colorado
- Uncompahgre National ForestUncompahgre National ForestUncompahgre National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 955,229 acres in parts of Montrose, Mesa, San Miguel, Ouray, Gunnison, San Juan, and Delta Counties in western Colorado...