Broad Pass is an approximately 15-mile long[note 1] gap in the Alaska Range. It is a highway corridor for the Parks Highway and is roughly halfway between Fairbanks and Anchorage. The town of Cantwell is located at its northern boundary.

Broad Pass
Elevation2,330 ft (710 m)
Traversed byParks Highway
LocationMatanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, US
RangeAlaska Range
Coordinates63°18′45″N 149°8′39″W / 63.31250°N 149.14417°W / 63.31250; -149.14417[1]
Topo mapUSGS Healy A-5, B-4, B-5

It separates the Alaska Range to the west and an unnamed subrange to the east.

History

edit

The area was known to Dena for millennia. The first recorded non-native expedition was done in 1898 by geologists George Homans Eldridge[2][note 2] and Robert Muldrow of the USGS. They also recorded the area's geology and topography, which led to railway plans in 1902.[3] Consequentially, the Alaska Railroad was completed between Fairbanks and Anchorage in 1923.[4] In 1971, the George Parks Highway was completed, and provided road access to the area.[5]

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Using the boundaries defined in[1]
  2. ^ This person is not Civil War Veteran George H. Eldridge.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Broad Pass". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ Cross, Whitman. Memoir of George H. Eldridge (PDF). Geological Society of America.
  3. ^ Fred H. Moffit (1916). Broad Pass Region, Alaska (PDF) (Report). United States Geological Survey.
  4. ^ "Alaska Railroad". History. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Alaska Department of Transportation". Parks Highway. Retrieved 21 March 2024.