{{Short description|Mountain pass in Mono County, California}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox mountain pass | name = Conway Summit | photo = File:Conway Summit ACEC (15783485442).jpg | photo_caption = Early snowfall at Conway Summit | map = California | map_caption = Location in California | map_relief = yes | elevation_ft = 8,143 | elevation_ref = | traversed = {{jct|state=CA|US|395}} | location = Mono County, California, United States | range = | coordinates = {{coord|38|05|17|N|119|10|55|W|type:pass_region:US-CA|display=it}} | topo = USGS Lundy }} thumb|Fall colors from Virginia Lake Road to Conway Summit, 2011
'''Conway Summit''' (el. 8,143 feet (2,482 m)) is a mountain pass in Mono County, California. It is traversed by U.S. Highway 395, which connects Bridgeport and the East Walker River on the north side of the pass to Mono Lake and Lee Vining to the south.<ref>[http://www.schweich.com/geoCAMnoConwaySummit.html Conway Summit, Mono County, California]. Eastern Mojave Vegetation (and a few other things), Tom Sweich.</ref><ref>{{gnis|258665|Conway Summit}}.</ref> It marks the highest point on U.S. 395, which also traverses high passes at Deadman Summit and Devil's Gate Pass.<ref name="roadgap"/>
Conway Summit is named after John Andrew Conway, a settler in the area in 1880.<ref name="roadgap">[http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/395/u8/ US 395, Part 8: Mono County (Mono Lake to Bridgeport)], Floodgap Roadgap.</ref><ref>{{citation|title=California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State|first=David L.|last=Durham|publisher=Quill Driver Books|year=1998|isbn=978-1-884995-14-9|page=1155}}.</ref> Geographically, it was formed from an upland plateau by the sinking of the land in the Mono basin area.<ref>{{citation|title=Quaternary geology of the United States: INQUA 2003 field guide volume|first=Don J.|last=Easterbrook|publisher=Geological Society of America|year=2003|isbn=978-94-592-0504-4|page=300}}.</ref> The Sawtooth Ridge of the eastern Sierra Nevada, topped by {{convert|12279|ft|m|adj=on}} Matterhorn Peak, rises to the west of the pass; Green Creek and Virginia Lakes, in the Sierra Nevada to the west of the pass, are two local destinations for fishing, camping and aspen trees. The Bodie Hills and the infamous Bodie ghost town lie to the east.
The Conway Summit Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), managed by the BLM, "offers some of the most accessible and spectacular fall color viewing areas anywhere in California."{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} The backdrop is formed by 12,000 foot peaks of the Ansel Adams Wilderness and Yosemite National Park.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{commons and category inline}} *[http://www.sunset.com/travel/california/sierras/sierras_7 Conway Summit] at Sunset Magazine *[https://www.flickr.com/photos/blmcalifornia/albums/72157658083924384 BLM Photo gallery]
Category:Mountain passes of California Category:Landforms of Mono County, California