# Union Pass > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Union_Pass > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Union_Pass.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pass > Source revision: 1301638447 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}} {{Infobox mountain pass | name = Union Pass | photo = Union Pass 2008.jpg | photo_caption = | elevation_ft = 9212 | elevation_ref ={{Cite map|publisher = Topoquest (USGS Quads)|title = Union Peak, WY|url = http://www.topoquest.com/map.php?lat=43.48067&lon=-109.87434&datum=nad83&zoom=8&map=auto&coord=d&mode=zoomout&size=m|access-date = 8 May 2011}} | traversed = Prehistoric | location = [Fremont County, Wyoming](/source/Fremont_County%2C_Wyoming), US | range = [Wind River Range](/source/Wind_River_Range) | coordinates = {{coord|43|28|53|N|109|52|36|W|type:pass_region:US-WY|display=inline,title}}{{cite gnis|id=1603861|name=Union Pass|access-date=8 May 2011}} | topo = [USGS](/source/United_States_Geological_Survey) Fish Creek Park (WY) }} {{Infobox NRHP | name = Union Pass | nrhp_type = | image = | caption = | location = [Wind River Range](/source/Wind_River_Range) | nearest_city = [Dubois, Wyoming](/source/Dubois%2C_Wyoming) | area = | built = | architect = | architecture = | added = April 4, 1969 | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | refnum = 69000367 | mpsub = }} '''Union Pass''' is a high [mountain pass](/source/mountain_pass) in the [Wind River Range](/source/Wind_River_Range) in [Fremont County](/source/Fremont_County%2C_Wyoming) of western [Wyoming](/source/Wyoming) in the United States. The pass is located on the [Continental Divide](/source/Continental_Divide) between the Gros Ventre mountains on the west and the Wind River Range on the east. A ''triple divide'' exists nearby, where water may flow to the [Mississippi River](/source/Mississippi_River), [Columbia River](/source/Columbia_River), or [Colorado River](/source/Colorado_River). The pass was historically used by Native Americans and early [mountain men](/source/mountain_men) including the [Astor Expedition](/source/Astor_Expedition) in 1811 on its way west. On the return trip, fearing hostile Indian activity near Union Pass, the Astorians chose a southern route and discovered [South Pass](/source/South_Pass_(Wyoming)). The pass was named by [U.S. Army](/source/U.S._Army) Captain [William F. Raynolds](/source/William_F._Raynolds) in 1860. Raynolds was in charge of the [Raynolds Expedition](/source/Raynolds_Expedition) which was exploring the [Yellowstone](/source/Yellowstone_National_Park) region immediately prior to the [Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War). After mountain man and guide [Jim Bridger](/source/Jim_Bridger) led the expedition over the pass, Raynolds gave the pass its current name.{{Cite book| last = Chittenden| first = Hiram Martin| title = The Yellowstone National Park Historical and Descriptive | publisher = Kessinger Publishing, LLC| date = April 1, 2005 | orig-year = 1911| pages = 57| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=My54IVh_QpMC&q=raynolds+expedition&pg=PA56| isbn = 1-4179-0456-9}} ==Location== Union Pass is located in the mountains of northwestern [Wyoming](/source/Wyoming). It is at an elevation of {{convert|9210|ft|m}}. It is a hub from which three Wyoming Mountain Ranges radiate. The three separate directions – the [Wind River Range](/source/Wind_River_Range) to the southeast ([Gannett Peak](/source/Gannett_Peak), {{convert|13804|ft|m}}), the [Gros Ventre Range](/source/Gros_Ventre_Range) ([Doubletop Peak](/source/Doubletop_Peak), {{convert|11720|ft|m}}) to the west and the [Absaroka Range](/source/Absaroka_Range) to the north ([Francs Peak](/source/Francs_Peak), {{convert| 13153|ft|m}}). The pass is {{convert|4000|ft|m}} lower than mountains around it. This provides easy passage among the headwaters of three river systems, the [Colorado](/source/Colorado_River), the [Columbia](/source/Columbia_River) and the [Missouri](/source/Missouri_River).Union Pass; Nedward M. Frost, historian, Wyoming Recreation Commission; National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form; United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service; Washington, D.C.; April 4, 1969 An unimproved dirt road crosses the pass, connecting [U.S. Route 287](/source/U.S._Route_287) near [Dubois](/source/Dubois%2C_Wyoming) to [U.S. Route 189](/source/U.S._Route_189) in [Pinedale](/source/Pinedale%2C_Wyoming). ==Native Americans== Reports from the fur trappers who first entered the mountains and those following mention the trail through the pass as being in long term us by the [Shoshone](/source/Eastern_Shoshone), [Bannack](/source/Bannock_people), [Arapaho](/source/Arapaho), [Gros Ventre](/source/Gros_Ventre), Flat Head or [Bitterroot Salish](/source/Bitterroot_Salish), [Nez Perce](/source/Nez_Perce_people), [Crow](/source/Crow_Nation) and others. The pass provide access into three river sheds. An east-west route ran from the east up the [Wind River](/source/Wind_River_(Wyoming)) valley and provided a western route by the [Gros Ventre](/source/Gros_Ventre_River) or [Hoback River](/source/Hoback_River)s to the Valley of the [Snake River](/source/Snake_River) in [Jackson's Hole](/source/Jackson's_Hole). To go south, the traveler would follow the Green River. The Union Pass Route was an extension of a North South Route up the [Valley of the Yellowstone](/source/Yellowstone_River). Coming up the Valley of the Thoroughfare, west of the [Absaroka Range](/source/Absaroka_Range) and south of [Yellowstone Lake](/source/Yellowstone_Lake), the trail followed the North Fork of the Yellowstone. Crossing over [Two Ocean Pass](/source/Two_Ocean_Pass), the trail split east and west around Terrace Mountain into the Wind River Valley at [DuNoir](/source/Dunoir%2C_Wyoming). From Union Pass south bound travelers could use the Green River Valley to connect east through [South Pass](/source/South_Pass_(Wyoming)) or west toward the [Snake River](/source/Snake_River). ==Astorians – 1811== [John Colter](/source/John_Colter) may have been the first easterner to visit the pass in 1807, but this is based on circumstantial evidence and is disputed by scholars. [Wilson Price Hunt](/source/Wilson_Price_Hunt), the Astorians overland to the mouth of the [Columbia](/source/Columbia_River) reported crossing Union Pass on September 15, 1811. This is the first record of the pass. The expedition guides were Edward Robinson, John Hoback and Jacob Rizner. Their previous participation in 1809 with the [Henry](/source/Andrew_Henry_(fur_trader)) expedition to the source of the [Missouri River](/source/Missouri_River) and back by way of the [Green River](/source/Green_River_(Colorado_River_tributary)) it is accepted that the three had been through Union Pass, during the year 1810. File:Union Pass historic marker.jpg|Historical marker describing first crossings. File:Union_Pass.jpg|View of Union Pass File:Union Pass 2017-09- 1336.jpg|Vicinity of the Historic marker for Union Pass on U.S. 26 & U.S. 287 in DuNoir with the Wind River Mtns in the background. ==See also== *[Camp Dubois, Wyoming](/source/Camp_Dubois%2C_Wyoming) * [Union Pass (Mohave County, Arizona)](/source/Union_Pass_(Mohave_County%2C_Arizona)) * [Union Pass (Nye County, Nevada)](/source/Union_Pass_(Nye_County%2C_Nevada)) ==References== {{reflist}} ==Bibliography== *Burton Harris. John Colter, His Years in the Rockies. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1952. *[Frances Fuller Victor](/source/Frances_Fuller_Victor). [Eleven Years in the Rocky Mountains and Life on the Frontier](/source/wikisource%3Aen%3AEleven_years_in_the_Rocky_Mountains_and_a_life_on_the_frontier). Columbian Book Company, Hartford Connecticut 1877. Published by Subscription. *Webster's Geographic Dictionary—G. & C. Merriam Co. Springfield, Massachusetts, U. S. A.--1964. *Hayden. U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories of Wyoming and Idaho 1878, Part I. Conducted under the authority of the Secretary of the Interior. Washington: Government Printing Office-1883. *Washington Irving. Astoria. Clatsop Edition, Binfords & Mort, Publishers Portland Oregon—undated. *Washington Irving. The Adventures of Captain Bonneville; edited and with introduction (and modern footnotes) by Edgeley W. Todd. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press-1961. ==External links== {{commonscat|Union Pass (Wyoming)}} * [http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/NationalRegister/Site.aspx?ID=173 Union Pass] at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office {{NRHP in Sublette County, Wyoming}} {{NRHP in Fremont County, Wyoming}} Category:Landforms of Fremont County, Wyoming Category:Great Divide of North America Category:Historic trails and roads in Wyoming Category:Mountain passes of Wyoming Category:Transportation in Fremont County, Wyoming Category:Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming Category:National Register of Historic Places in Fremont County, Wyoming Category:Road transportation infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Union Pass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pass) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pass?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.