Editing Walker Pass

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox mountain pass
| name = Walker Pass
| photo = SR178 5000 Elevation.jpg
| photo_caption = The approach to Walker Pass
| elevation_ft = 5,250
| elevation_ref = 
| traversed = {{jct|state=CA|CA|178}}
| location = [[Sierra Crest]], [[Kern County, California|Kern County]], [[California]], [[United States|US]]
| range = [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]]
| map = California
| map_size = 220
| coords = {{coord|35|39|47|N|118|01|37|W|type:pass|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| topo = 
| embedded ={{Infobox NRHP
| embed                    = yes
| name                     =
| nrhp_type                = nhl
| nearest_city             = [[Ridgecrest, California]]
| built                    = 1834
| added                    = October 15, 1966<ref name = nris/>
| designated_nrhp_type     = July 4, 1961<ref name="nhlsum">[http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceID=116&resourceType=Structure NHL Summary]</ref>
| designated_other1        = California
| designated_other1_number = 99
| refnum                   = 66000210<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2010a}}</ref>
}}
}}
'''Walker Pass''' (el. {{convert|5250|ft|m|abbr=on}}) is a [[mountain pass]] by [[Lake Isabella]] in the southern [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]].  It is located in northeastern [[Kern County, California|Kern County]], approximately 53&nbsp;mi (85&nbsp;km) ENE of [[Bakersfield, California|Bakersfield]] and 10&nbsp;mi (16&nbsp;km) WNW of [[Ridgecrest, California|Ridgecrest]]. The pass provides a route between the [[Kern River Valley]] and [[San Joaquin Valley]] on the west, and the [[Mojave Desert]] on the east.

Walker Pass is a [[National Historic Landmark]], and is under the stewardship of the [[Bureau of Land Management]].

==History==
Walker Pass was charted as a route through the Sierra in 1834 by [[Joseph R. Walker|Joseph Rutherford Walker]], a member of the [[Benjamin Bonneville|Bonneville Expedition]] who learned of it from [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. Walker returned through the pass in 1843, leading an [[Joseph B. Chiles|immigrant wagon train]] into California. In 1845 the military surveying expedition of [[John C. Fremont]] used the pass.  He suggested it be named after Walker.<ref name = nrhpinv>{{Cite web | last =  Rudo | first = Mark O.  | title = Walker Pass | work = National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory | publisher = [[National Park Service]] | date = September 26, 1989 | url = {{NHLS url|id=66000210}} | format = pdf | access-date = 25 May 2012}}</ref><ref name = nrhpphotos>{{Cite web | title = Walker Pass  | work = Photographs | publisher = [[National Park Service]]
| url = {{NHLS url|id=66000210|photos=y}} | format = pdf | access-date = 25 May 2012}}</ref>

Walker Pass was used in 1861 by   cattlemen from the [[San Joaquin Valley]] and the [[Tejon Pass|Tejon]] region of the Tehachapi mountains to drive cattle to the silver boomtown of Aurora near [[Mono Lake]].<ref name=mcgrath>{{cite book | title=Gunfighter, Highwaymen & Vigilantes|author=Roger McGrath|publisher=University of California Press|date=1984|page=17}}</ref>

The Walker Pass Lodge was built nearby in the 1930s and was a well-known rest stop before burning down around 1990.

Aside from the paved road, the pass is essentially unaltered since Walker mapped it in 1834.<ref name = nrhpinv/>

==Description==
It is the highest point on [[California State Route 178|State Route 178]]. The pass is also the southernmost crossing along the [[Sierra Crest]], with more southerly [[Tehachapi Pass]] traditionally marking the geographic divide between the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] and [[Tehachapi Mountains]].

Between Walker Pass and [[Tioga Pass]], several hours drive to the north, there is only one paved road for automobiles to cross over the Sierra Nevada. It runs from the northern end of [[Indian Wells Valley]] at the east, to the hydrologic pass between the [[Great Basin]] and the [[Pacific Ocean]] at the top of the Nine-Mile Canyon road, then west along the [[Sherman Pass (California)|Sherman Pass Road]].

All roads between Walker Pass and [[Carson Pass]] ([[California State Route 88|State Route 88]]), over {{convert|200|mi|km}} in distance, are subject to extended closure by winter snowfall.  Walker Pass is sometimes closed due to snowfall, but due to its lower elevation these closures are for brief periods. However, most east–west traffic in the region utilizes the four-lane State Route 58 through Tehachapi Pass, located about one hour's drive to the south.

The [[Pacific Crest Trail]] crosses at Walker Pass. A campsite situated about 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) southwest of the road pass is a popular stop for hikers and astronomers alike.

==California Historical Landmark==
The California Historical Landmark reads:

:''NO. 99 WALKER'S PASS - Discovered by Joseph R. Walker, American trailblazer, who left the San Joaquin Valley through this pass in 1834. This area was traversed by topographer Edward M. Kern, after whom the Kern River was named, while accompanying the Frémont expedition of 1845. After 1860 it became a mining freight route to Owens Valley. ''<ref>[https://www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com/landmarks/chl-99 californiahistoricallandmarks.com Landmark chl-99]</ref>


==See also==
* [[List of Sierra Nevada road passes]]
* {{C|History of the Mojave Desert region}}
* {{C|History of the Sierra Nevada (United States)}}
* [[California Historical Landmarks in Kern County, California]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Kern County, California]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/bakersfield/Programs/planning/rmpcontents/chapt12_walker_pass.html BLM management plan for Walker Pass National Historic Landmark] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928210059/http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/bakersfield/Programs/planning/rmpcontents/chapt12_walker_pass.html |date=2016-09-28 }}
*[https://www.blm.gov/visit/walker-pass-campground Walker Pass Campground], [[Bureau of Land Management]]

{{Protected Areas of California|NRHP}}
{{National Register of Historic Places|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mountain passes of the Sierra Nevada (United States)]]
[[Category:Historic trails and roads in California]]
[[Category:Landforms of Kern County, California]]
[[Category:Transportation in Kern County, California]]
[[Category:History of the Mojave Desert region]]
[[Category:History of the Sierra Nevada (United States)]]
[[Category:Kern River Valley]]
[[Category:Mojave Desert]]
[[Category:California Historical Landmarks]]
[[Category:Road transportation infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in California]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Kern County, California]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Kern County, California]]
[[Category:Protected areas of the Mojave Desert]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in California]]