Pacheco Pass

For the California wine region, see Pacheco Pass AVA.

Pacheco Pass
Coming over the pass eastbound on CA 152
Elevation	1,368 ft (417 m)
Traversed by	SR 152
Location	Santa Clara County, California, U.S.
Range	California Coast Ranges
Coordinates	37°3′59″N 121°13′7″W / 37.06639°N 121.21861°W / 37.06639; -121.21861Coordinates: 37°3′59″N 121°13′7″W / 37.06639°N 121.21861°W / 37.06639; -121.21861
The pass lies east of Gilroy and west of Los Banos

California Historical Landmark
Reference no.	829^[1]

Pacheco Pass, elevation 1,368 ft (417 m), is a mountain pass located in the Diablo Range in southeastern Santa Clara County, California. It is the main route through the hills separating the Santa Clara Valley and the Central Valley.

As with most passes in the California Coast Ranges, it is not very high when compared to those in other mountain areas within the state. The road that traverses Pacheco Pass is State Route 152, which runs for 106 miles (171 km) between SR 1 in Watsonville and SR 99. Pacheco Pass Road, the western section between Gilroy and the pass itself (a distance of approximately 14 miles), is single-lane state highway in each direction and is the site of many accidents.^[2]

Names

The pass was named for Francisco Perez Pacheco of the Rancho Ausaymas y San Felipe.^[3] In the 1850s, an informal variant name for the pass was Robber's Pass attributed to the frequent hold-ups experienced by travelers using the route.^[4]

History

A trail nearby, through what is now Pacheco State Park, was used by the Yokuts people to cross the mountains and trade with other native people on the coast.^[5] Spanish army officer Gabriel Moraga first recorded the pass in 1805.^[1] Since then, it has been a major route between the Santa Clara Valley and the Central Valley. It was the site of one of the stage stations on the route of the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route which connected the Saint Louis, Missouri with San Francisco from 1858 until 1861.^[6] Other stage lines used the route thereafter until completion of the railroads within the state.

Pacheco Pass is registered as California Historical Landmark #829.^[1]

Nearby features

There are no major communities between Gilroy in the Santa Clara Valley and Los Banos in the Central Valley. There are no other major crossings of the Diablo range farther south until they are crossed again by California State Route 198 at an unnamed pass some 75 miles (121 km) to the south.

On the west side of the pass lies Casa de Fruta, an extensive trading post in the valley of Pacheco Creek.^[7] Originally a site devoted to selling locally produced fruit and nuts to travelers, Casa de Fruta has expanded to include a delicatessen, truckstop, RV park, and other facilities. A rural locale named Bell Station also lies along the route, between Casa de Fruta and the pass.

On the eastern slope of the pass lies the San Luis Reservoir, which stores water for the Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project.^[8] The San Luis Reservoir and O'Neill Forebay operate as a pumped storage hydroelectric plant.^[8] The roadway entrances to the San Luis Reservoir state recreational area and Pacheco State Park require caution entering or exiting because there are no stop signs or traffic lights and two lanes of heavy traffic in each direction.

Pacheco State Park extends to the south of the pass from its entrance on Dinosaur Point Road near the pass.^[9] There is a small windfarm located at the top of the pass that can be seen from Dinosaur Point Road.

The Pacheco Pass American Viticultural Area is nearby.^[10]

California High-Speed Rail

Pacheco Pass has been tentatively selected as the route that the proposed California High-Speed Rail will take between the Bay Area and the Central Valley.^[11]

References

1 2 3 "Pacheco Pass". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
↑ Grace, Anthony (1 January 2007). "California's "Haunted" Highway". Skeptic Report. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
↑ Rehart, Catherine Morison (2000), "Francisco Pacheco", Valleys Legends & Legacies III, Quill Driver Books, p. 160, ISBN 9781884995187 .
↑ Shumate, Albert (1977), Francisco Pacheco of Pacheco Pass, University of the Pacific .
↑ Rodebaugh, Dale (May 24, 1996), "Heiress' ancestral landholds become a Northern California state park", San Jose Mercury-News, (subscription required (help)) .
↑ "CALIFORNIA. - Interesting from Washington Territory. PROGRESS OF THE INDIAN WAR. ARRIVAL OF THE OVERLAND MAIL ITINERARY OF THE ROUTE.". The New York Times. October 14, 1858. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
↑ "Gourmet Dried Fruit, Chocolate Covered Fruit, Gift Baskets, Healthy Fruit, Pomegranate Wine, Mesquite Flour at Casa de Fruta". Retrieved 2012-09-09.
1 2 "Station Meta Data: SAN LUIS RESERVOIR (FEDERAL)". Retrieved 2012-09-09.
↑ Pacheco State Park
↑ Appellation America (2007). "Pacheco Pass (AVA): Appellation Description". Retrieved Jan. 24, 2008.
↑ Nelson, Erik N. (December 20, 2007), "Rail authority likes Pacheco train route", Oakland Tribune, (subscription required (help)) .

External links

San Luis Reservoir state recreational area webpage

Butterfield Overland Mail 1st Division Stations

San Francisco – Western terminus and 1st Division headquarters, located in downtown San Francisco.
Clarks's Station – Located 12 miles south of San Francisco in what is now San Bruno.
Sun Water Station – Located 9 miles south of Clarks Station in what is now San Mateo.
Redwood City – Located 9 miles south of Sun Water Station.
Mountain View Station – Located 12 miles south of Redwood City.
San Jose Station – Located 11 miles south of Mountain View Station in the city of San Jose.
Seventeen Mile House – Located 17 miles south of San Jose.
Gilroy Station – Located 13 miles south of Seventeen Mile House in what is now Gilroy, California.
Pacheco Pass Station – Located 18 miles east of Gilroy
St. Louis Ranch – Located 17 miles east of Pacheco Pass.
Lone Willow Station – Located 18 miles east of St. Louis Ranch near Los Banos.
Temple's Ranch – Located 13 miles southeast of Lone Willow Station near Dos Palos.
Firebaugh's Ferry – Located 15 miles southeast of Temples Ranch, on the San Joaquin River.
Fresno City – Located 19 miles southeast of Firebaugh's Ferry.
Elkhorn Spring Station – Located 22 miles east of Fresno City near present-day Riverdale.
Whitmore's Ferry – Located 17 miles southeast of Elkhorn Spring Station on the Kings River.
Head of Cross Creek Station – Located 15 miles southeast of Whitmore's Ferry.
Visalia – Located 12 miles southeast of Cross Creek Station.
Packwood Station – Located 12 miles east of Visalia.
Tule River Station – Located 14 miles south of Packwood Station.
Fountain Spring Station – Located 14 miles southeast of Tule River Station.
Mountain House – Located 12 miles south of Fountain Spring Station.
Posey Creek Station – Located 15 miles southwest of Mountain House, on Posey (Poso) Creek.
Gordon's Ferry (Kern River Station) – Located 10 miles south of Posey Creek Station on the Kern River just above present-day Bakersfield.
Kern River Slough Station – Located 12 miles south of Gordons Ferry.
Sink of Tejon Station – Located 14 miles southwest of Kern River Slough Station.
Fort Tejon – Located 15 miles southwest of Sink of Tejon Station.
Reed's Station – Located 8 miles southeast of Fort Tejon, near the Tejon Pass summit.
French John's Station – Located 14 miles east southeast of Reeds Station, in the vicinity of the mouth of Cow Springs Creek Canyon.
Mud Spring, a later station operating in 1860, 14 miles east from French Johns and 13 miles north from Clayton's Station (formerly Widow Smith's Station).
Widow Smith's Station (Clayton's Station, Major Gordon's Station) – Located 24 miles from French John's Station, in upper San Francisquito Canyon near Green Valley.
King's Station – Located 10 miles south of Widow Smith's Station in lower San Francisquito Canyon.
Hart's Station or Lyons Station – Located 12 miles south of King's Station, near Santa Clara River.
Lopez Station – Located 8 ¹⁄₂ miles southeast of Hart's Station, in the San Fernando Valley north of Mission San Fernando Rey de España.
Cahuenga Station – Located 12 miles southeast of Mission San Fernando, in Cahuenga Pass, the Santa Monica Mountains.

Source: "List of Butterfield Overland Mail Stations "Itinerary of the Route"". New York Times. October 14, 1858.

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