View source for Ebbetts Pass

{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox mountain pass
| name = Ebbetts Pass
| photo = Ebbetts Pass 04 (4894171880).jpg
| photo_caption = Subalpine meadow at Ebbetts Pass
| map               = California
| map_caption       = Location in [[California]]
| map_relief        = yes
| elevation_ft = 8736
| elevation_ref = {{navd88}}<ref name="ngs">{{cite ngs |id=JR0564 |name=T 194 |accessdate=2012-06-23}}</ref>
| traversed = {{Jct|state=CA|CA|4}}
| location = [[Alpine County, California]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| range = [[Sierra Nevada]]
| coordinates = {{coord|38.5443529|-119.8118455|region:US-CA_type:pass_source:GNIS|format=dms|display=inline,title}}<ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis |id=259784 |name=Ebbetts Pass |accessdate=2012-06-23}}</ref>
| embedded = {{Designation list | embed=yes | designation1 = California | designation1_number = 318<ref name="ohp"/>}}
}}

'''Ebbetts Pass''' (el. {{convert|8736|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=or}}), named after John Ebbetts, is a high [[mountain pass]] through the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] range in [[Alpine County, California]]. Ebbetts is the eastern of two passes in the area traversed by [[California State Route 4|State Route 4]]. The western pass is the Pacific Grade Summit (el {{convert|8050|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=or}}). The pass is registered as a [[California Historical Landmark]].<ref name="ohp">{{cite ohp |id=318 |name=Ebbetts Pass Route |accessdate=2012-03-30}}</ref> The [[Pacific Crest Trail]], a {{convert|2650|mi|km|adj=on}} long [[National Scenic Trail]] crosses State Route 4 at Ebbetts Pass.

==History==
Native Americans were undoubtedly the first humans to traverse the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but it is unknown if they regularly used Ebbetts Pass since any trail they would have used is no longer traceable.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.calaverashistory.org/overview/ebbetts-pass-history|first=Judith|last=Marvin|title=Ebbetts Pass History|publisher=CalaverasHistory.org|access-date=2019-06-15}}</ref>  It is traditionally held to be the pass used by [[Jedediah Smith]] in late spring of 1827 when leaving California at the end of his first exploratory journey, the first crossing ever of the Sierra Nevada by a non-native, but snow would have obscured any trail so he was blazing his own path. It may also have been used by the [[Bartleson–Bidwell Party]] on their emigration to California.<ref name=Scenic>{{cite web|url=https://scenic4.org/history/|title=History|publisher=Ebbetts Pass National Scenic Byway|access-date=2019-06-15}}</ref>

John Ebbetts, a fur trader turned guide for [[California Gold Rush]] "Forty-niners" claimed to have led a string of pack mules easterly over the Sierras in the vicinity of Ebbetts Pass in April 1851.  He believed the pass he had used would be suitable for the [[transcontinental railroad]], as he noted little snow at the time. He later [[surveying|surveyed]] near the pass for a possible railroad route, but found it unsuitable. He intended to return to the pass itself to survey it for a road but was killed in the explosion of the [[steamboat]] ''Secretary'' on [[San Pablo Bay]] in 1854 before he could do so.<ref name=Scenic/> While the pass was referred to by his name earlier, it was not until 1893, when the U.S. Geological Survey surveyed the Markleeville quadrangle, that the pass was officially named after him.<ref>{{cite book | title=California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names | first=Erwin Gustav | last=Gudde | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kqwt5RlMVBoC&q=john+ebbetts&pg=PA118 | publisher=University of California Press | year=2004 | isbn=0-520-24217-3}}</ref>

The route was used only occasionally until [[silver]] was discovered east of the Sierra, and merchants in [[Murphys, California|Murphys]] had a road constructed to [[Markleeville, California|Markleeville]] to more easily transport supplies over the pass to the miners. This became a [[toll road]] in 1862. From Markleeville, travel further eastward was taken along established routes.<ref name=Scenic/>

It was not until the early 1950s that the road over [[Monitor Pass]] to [[U.S. Route 395 (California)|U.S. Route 395]] was completed, connecting the eastern terminus of [[California State Route 4|State Route 4]] to [[U.S. Route 395 (California)|U.S. Route 395]] via [[California State Route 89|State Route 89]] near the community of Topaz.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cahighways.org/089-096.html#089 | title=State Route 89 | publisher=California Highways | access-date=2007-11-04}}</ref>

Ebbetts Pass was designated as a California State Scenic Highway in 1971; it was similarly honored with National Scenic Byway status on September 22, 2005. It is one of only seven nationally so-designated byways in California, and of 151 in the entire nation.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.scenic4.org | title=Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway}}</ref>

==Current usage==
[[File:Ebbetts Pass sign.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Historical marker at Ebbetts Pass]]
Today, Ebbetts Pass is one of the least traveled passes in the Sierra Nevada. A 23-mile stretch between Lake Alpine and Centerville Flat is less than two lanes, and lacks a dividing line between them.{{cn|date=November 2024}} It has very steep sections with hairpin corners.<ref>{{cite book | title=Sierra North: Backcountry Trips in California's Sierra Nevada | first=Kathy | last=Morey |author2=Thomas Winnett |author3=Mike White |author4=Stacy Corless  | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SFTJqN7vzR4C&q=ebbetts+pass+hairpin&pg=RA1-PA93 | publisher=Wilderness Press | year=2005| isbn=9780899973968 }}</ref> The eastern slope is particularly difficult, as many of the hairpin corners are blind, and steepen suddenly at the apex, making it necessary to shift to first gear in most vehicles. It is rarely used by commercial traffic and is not recommended for vehicles towing long trailers.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.calacog.org/docs/final_cmp_chap_1_2_3.pdf | title=Corridor Management Plan | publisher=Calaveras Council of Governments | access-date=2009-12-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930172006/http://www.calacog.org/docs/final_cmp_chap_1_2_3.pdf | archive-date=2008-09-30 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Furthermore, the pass closes during the winter months, often from November through as late as May.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dot.ca.gov/travel/winter-driving-tips|title=Winter Driving Tips|publisher=Caltrans|access-date=2020-09-08}}</ref>

==Geology==
The pass is the namesake of [[Ebbetts Pass Granodiorite]], a [[Late Cretaceous]] rock unit that was identified in 1957 in a geologic survey of the mountain pass.<ref name="Wilshire">{{cite journal |last1=Wilshire |first1=H.G. |title=Propylitization of Tertiary volcanic rocks near Ebbetts Pass, Alpine County, California |journal=University of California Publications in Geological Sciences |date=1957 |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=243–271 |url=https://archive.org/details/propylitizationo00wils/page/n3/mode/2up?q=+Ebbetts+Pass+Granodiorite |access-date=3 June 2025 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |format=PDF}}</ref>
==Climate==

According to the [[Köppen Climate Classification]] system, Ebbetts Pass has a [[dry-summer subarctic climate]], abbreviated "Dsc" on climate maps. While snowfall totals aren’t measured, roughly 400+ inches of snow fall on average annually.

{{Weather box
|location = Ebbetts Pass, California
|single line = Yes

|Jan high F = 36
|Feb high F = 36
|Mar high F = 39
|Apr high F = 44
|May high F = 51
|Jun high F = 61
|Jul high F = 69
|Aug high F = 68
|Sep high F = 63
|Oct high F = 53
|Nov high F = 42
|Dec high F = 35
|year high F =

|Jan low F = 17
|Feb low F = 16
|Mar low F = 19
|Apr low F = 22
|May low F = 29
|Jun low F = 37
|Jul low F = 45
|Aug low F = 45
|Sep low F = 40
|Oct low F = 31
|Nov low F = 23
|Dec low F = 17
|year low F =

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 9.30
|Feb precipitation inch = 8.29
|Mar precipitation inch = 7.70
|Apr precipitation inch = 4.71
|May precipitation inch = 2.93
|Jun precipitation inch = 1.05
|Jul precipitation inch = 0.59
|Aug precipitation inch = 0.50
|Sep precipitation inch = 0.89
|Oct precipitation inch = 3.08
|Nov precipitation inch = 5.27
|Dec precipitation inch = 9.21
|year precipitation inch =

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 12.6
|Feb precipitation days = 13.0
|Mar precipitation days = 13.3
|Apr precipitation days = 12.6
|May precipitation days = 9.1
|Jun precipitation days = 4.0
|Jul precipitation days = 2.4
|Aug precipitation days = 1.9
|Sep precipitation days = 3.7
|Oct precipitation days = 6.6
|Nov precipitation days = 10.2
|Dec precipitation days = 13.2

|Jan snow depth inch = 74
|Feb snow depth inch = 88
|Mar snow depth inch = 101
|Apr snow depth inch = 87
|May snow depth inch = 58
|Jun snow depth inch = 19
|Jul snow depth inch = 0
|Aug snow depth inch = 0
|Sep snow depth inch = 0
|Oct snow depth inch = 6
|Nov snow depth inch = 23
|Dec snow depth inch = 52
|year snow depth inch = 109

|source 1 = XMACIS2<ref name = XMACIS2>
{{cite web
|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = xmACIS2
|access-date = March 7, 2023
}}
</ref>
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons and category}}
*[http://www.scenic4.org/ Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway] official site
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100323201224/http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2305/ Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway] on byways.org
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091213033932/http://ebbettspasshistory.org/ Ebbetts Pass Historical Association]
*[http://www.calaverashistory.org/ebbetts-pass Calaveras Heritage Council]

{{Sierra Nevada|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Mountain passes of the Sierra Nevada (United States)]]
[[Category:Landforms of Alpine County, California]]
[[Category:Historic trails and roads in California]]
[[Category:California Historical Landmarks]]