Cajon Pass
Elevation	1,277 m (4,190 ft. In topography a summit is a point on a surface which is higher in Elevation than all points immediately adjacent to )
Location	California,  United States
Range	San Bernardino Mountains/San Gabriel Mountains
Coordinates	34°18.7′N 117°28.5′W / 34.3117, -117.475Coordinates: 34°18.7′N 117°28.5′W / 34.3117, -117.475
Traversed by	I-15, Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway

At an elevation of 1,277 meters (4,190 ft. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A mountain range is a chain of Mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys The San Bernardino Mountains ( Huwaaly Kwasakyav in Mojave) are a short transverse Mountain range northeast of Los Angeles in The San Gabriel Mountains are located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County California, USA. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Interstate 15 (I-15 is the fourth-longest north-south transcontinental interstate highway in the United States, traveling through the states of California The BNSF Railway headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is one of the four remaining Transcontinental railroads and one of the largest railroad networks in ) the Cajon Pass (pronounced /kəˈhoʊn/) is a moderate-elevation mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California in the United States. In a range of hills or especially of mountains, a pass (also gap, notch, col, saddle, bwlch, The San Bernardino Mountains ( Huwaaly Kwasakyav in Mojave) are a short transverse Mountain range northeast of Los Angeles in The San Gabriel Mountains are located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County California, USA. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It was created by the movements of the San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas Fault is a geologic Transform fault that runs a length of roughly 800 miles (1300 km through California in the United States. The pass provides an important economic link from the Los Angeles Basin to Victor Valley and the Mojave Desert. The Los Angeles Basin is the coastal Sediment -filled plain located between the peninsular and transverse ranges in southern California in Victor Valley is a region of Southern California north of the San Bernardino Mountains in the Mojave Desert. For the indigenous American tribe see Mohave. The Mojave Desert (moʊˈhɑːvi or /məˈhɑːvi/ ( Hayikwiir Mat'aar in Mojave

Mormon Rocks

In 1851, a band of Mormon settlers led by Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich crossed Cajon Pass on their way from Salt Lake City to the Los Angeles basin. 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year TalkMormon#Latter Day Saint vs Latter-day Saint --> Mormon Amasa Mason Lyman (ˈæməsə ( March 30, 1813 – February 4, 1877) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and was Charles Coulson Rich (August 21 1809 &ndash November 17 1883 was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served as an apostle of The Church Salt Lake City is the Capital and the most populous city of the U In commemoration of this crossing, a section of the pass where the railroad passes through (near Sullivan's Curve) is now known as Mormon Rocks.

Aviation

The Cajon Pass area is known for high wind, turbulence and fog. ^[1] The weather over the pass can vary, from foggy days with poor visibility to clear afternoons where aircraft are bounced by gusting Santa Ana winds that top 70-80 mph. ^[2] In the 2006 Mercy Air 2 accident, an air ambulance helicopter collided with mountainous terrain near the pass in foggy weather. The 2006 Mercy Air helicopter accident occurred on December 10, 2006, about 1755 Pacific standard time when a Bell 412SP helicopter call sign "Mercy An air ambulance is an Aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional Ambulance cannot easily or quickly reach

Rail transport

An eastbound Union Pacific Railroad train working upgrade on Cajon Pass.

The California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of the Santa Fe Railway, was the first railroad to use the Cajon Pass as a route through the mountains. The California Southern Railroad was a Subsidiary railroad of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe in Southern California. A subsidiary, in business matters is an entity that is controlled by a bigger and more powerful entity The Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The rail line through the pass was built in the early 1880s as part of a connection between the present day cities of Barstow and San Diego. Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. ^[3][4] Today, the Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway (the successor to the Santa Fe) use this pass to access Los Angeles. The BNSF Railway headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is one of the four remaining Transcontinental railroads and one of the largest railroad networks in Due to the high volume of trains, noteworthy scenery and easy access, it is a popular location for railfanning, and numerous photographs of trains on Cajon Pass appear in books and magazines about trains. A railfan or rail buff ( American English) railway enthusiast or railway buff ( Australian / British English) or (often The current Amtrak Chicago-Los Angeles Southwest Chief passenger train travels through the pass. The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Doing business as Amtrak, is a Government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 The Southwest Chief (formerly the Southwest Limited) is a Passenger train operated by Amtrak along a 2256-mile (3631-km route through

The Union Pacific Railroad owns one track through the pass, the previous Southern Pacific Railroad Palmdale cutoff. The BNSF Railway has two tracks, and as of 2008, is in the process of adding a third. ^[5] The railroads can share tracks through the pass as needed, the Union Pacific had trackage rights on the Santa Fe portion negotiated under the original the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad. The San Pedro Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (SPLA&SL is a now-defunct rail company that completed and operated a railway line between its namesake cities via Las Vegas Nevada The first BNSF line was constructed in 1890 and closely follows I-15. The second track, built in 1913, makes a two mile longer loop to around the hills at a lower grade. The third track will run parallel to the 1913 line. ^[5] The grade is especially challenging to long trains—in particular, descent is potentially dangerous, as a runaway can easily occur if the engineer (driver) is not careful in handling the brakes. The grade (or gradient or pitch or slope) of any physical feature such as a Hill, Stream, Roof, railroad, or Speeds of 60 and 70 miles per hour are found on either side, but are restricted to 14 to 22 mph ascending and between 20 and 30 mph while descending. ^[5] The third track will enable a capacity of 150 trains per day on the BNSF lines. ^[5]

Cajon Pass was the site of the San Bernardino train disaster.

Road transport

The Mojave Freeway (Interstate 15) was built through the Cajon Pass and provides a major route from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. In the US state of California, Interstate 15 is a major north-south route through the San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego In the US state of California, Interstate 15 is a major north-south route through the San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Las Vegas ( Spanish: "The Meadows" is the most populous City in the state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally The freeway runs above and parallel to an original stretch of old Route 66. This stretch, which is now known as Cajon Boulevard, is a short but well-preserved fragment dating back to a rerouting and widening of the highway in the early 1950s. Only the southbound/westbound lanes are in use; the northbound/eastbound lanes and corresponding bridges are closed to through traffic. It is along this stretch of road, accessible via either the Kenwood Drive or Cleghorn Road exits that some of the best aforementioned trainspotting areas may be found.

The historic Summit Inn, off the Oak Hills exit at the summit of the pass, is a historic Route 66 diner and has been at its present location since 1952. The Summit Inn is a historic US Route 66 roadside diner and one of the few of its kind left in Southern California

Some maps may show the Cajon Pass as a feature on SR 138, which crosses I-15 south of the summit. The highest point on I-15 is thus identified as Cajon Summit. However, this does not appear to be common practice on most maps or on road signs in the area.

Utilities infrastructure

In addition to transportation infrastructure, three high voltage Southern California Edison 500 kV power lines cross the summit as well. Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp the largest subsidiary of Edison International ( is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California The volt (symbol V) is the SI derived unit of electric Potential difference or Electromotive force. Electric power transmission, a process in the delivery of Electricity to consumers is the bulk transfer of electrical power These power lines head to Lugo substation northeast of Cajon pass and connect to Path 26 and Path 46. An electrical substation is a subsidiary station of an Electricity generation, transmission and distribution system where Voltage Path 26 is a set of three 500 kV power lines that forms Southern California Edison 's (SCE intertie with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E to the Path 46, also called West of Colorado River, Arizona-California West-of-the-River Path ( WOR) is a set of many High voltage electrical power Both Path 26 and 46 provide the Los Angeles metro area another source of electricity generated from fossil fuel power plants far away in the Four Corners region, and hydroelectric dams along the Colorado River. A power station (also referred to as generating station, power plant or powerhouse) is an industrial facility for the generation of The Four Corners is a region of the United States consisting of southwest Colorado, northwest New Mexico, northeast Arizona and southeast Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by Hydropower, ie the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling water The Colorado River (' Aha Kwahwat in Mojave) is a River in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately

Natural hazards

During October and November of 2003, a number of wildfires devastated the hills and mountainsides near and around the pass, forcing the closure of Interstate 15. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. A wildfire, also known as a wildland fire, forest fire, brush fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, Peat fire, The following winter, rains in addition to burnt vegetation caused a number of landsides to further close the freeway pass. A landslide is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement such as rock falls deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows which can occur

In addition to wildfire hazards, the Cajon Pass is notorious for wind hazards as well. When it is gusty, it is especially difficult to navigate through it as the Santa Ana winds usually push through that area. The Santa Ana winds are strong extremely dry offshore Winds that characteristically sweep through in Southern California and northern Baja California in The winds sometimes reach gale-force strength. As a result, there are usually high wind advisories as well as road signs posted throughout the area. It is not uncommon to see overturned trucks during such windy weather there.

Cajon Pass gets snow occasionally, sometimes enough to close the pass temporarily. When there is snow, the California Highway Patrol will set up checkpoints on the freeway. The California Highway Patrol (CHP is a state agency that acts as the State police force of California. Since most Southern Californians are without snow tires or snow chains, they are forced to turn back, or wait for the snow to stop and the freeway is cleared of snow. This article is about tires used on road Vehicles including pneumatic tires and solid tires. Snow chains, or tire chains, are devices which are affixed to the Tires of Vehicles to provide superior traction when driving through Snow

When there is high winds or snow in the Cajon Pass, it is fairly common for weathermen or reporters for Los Angeles-area televisions stations to do location reports from the Cajon Pass. A reporter is a type of Journalist who Researches and presents information in certain types of Mass media. A filming location is a place where some or all of a Film or television series is produced in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a studio Backlot

The infamous San Andreas Fault passes through the Cajon Pass (crossing I-15 on the south side of the summit) and is partially responsible for the unique local geography. The San Andreas Fault is a geologic Transform fault that runs a length of roughly 800 miles (1300 km through California in the United States.

References

External links

• El Cajon Pass, Google Maps