Targhee Pass

{{Short description|Mountain pass in Idaho and Montana}} {{Use American English|date=April 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox mountain pass | name = Targhee Pass | photo = | photo_caption = | elevation_ft = 7072 | elevation_ref = | traversed = US 20 | location = Fremont County, Idaho /<br>Gallatin County, Montana, U.S. | range = Rocky Mountains | map = USA#Idaho | map_caption = Location in the United States##Location on the Idaho / Montana border | map_size = 250 | label = Targhee Pass | coords = {{coord|44|40|29|N|111|16|33|W|type:pass|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref = <ref>{{cite gnis |id=791897 |name=Targhee Pass}}</ref> | topo = USGS Targhee Pass }} '''Targhee Pass''' is a mountain pass in the western United States on the Continental Divide. It is located along the border between southeastern Idaho and southwestern Montana, in the Henrys Lake Mountains at an elevation of {{convert|7072|ft}} above sea level. The pass is named for a Bannock chief.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rees|first=John E.|title=Idaho Chronology, Nomenclature, Bibliography|url=https://archive.org/details/idahochronologyn00reesrich|year=1918|publisher=W.B. Conkey Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/idahochronologyn00reesrich/page/115 115]}}</ref>

U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) crosses the pass, approximately {{convert|15|mi|spell=in}} west of West Yellowstone, on the western boundary of Yellowstone National Park. The pass provides the most direct access to the park from southern Idaho.

The pass is located in the Caribou–Targhee National Forest. Henrys Lake, the headwaters of the Henrys Fork, a tributary of the Snake River is located just west of the pass. Hebgen Lake, a reservoir on the Madison River, a tributary of the Missouri River, is located just north of the pass.

==Nez Perce War== During the Nez Perce War in 1877, Chief Joseph's band of Nez Perce traversed the pass on August 22 while evading U.S. Cavalry forces under the command of General Oliver O. Howard. The Nez Perce had just engaged the army in the Idaho Territory at the Battle of Camas Creek. After entering Montana Territory, the Indians moved east up the Madison River into Yellowstone National Park.<ref>{{cite book |author=Utley, Robert M. |title=Frontier Regulars the United States Army and the Indian, 1866-1891 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |location=Lincoln, NE |year=1973 |isbn= 0-8032-9551-0 |pages=308–309 }}</ref>

==See also== * Mountain passes in Montana

==Notes== {{reflist}} {{Montana}}

Category:Landforms of Fremont County, Idaho Category:Landforms of Gallatin County, Montana Category:Mountain passes of Idaho Category:Mountain passes of Montana Category:Great Divide of North America Category:Transportation in Fremont County, Idaho Category:Transportation in Gallatin County, Montana Category:U.S. Route 20