Aa mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge . Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migration throughout history. At lower elevations it may be called a hill pass . A mountain pass is typically formed between two volcanic peaks or created by erosion from water or wind.
15-768: The Iselsberg Pass , at 1,209 m (3,967 ft), is a high mountain pass in the Austrian Alps between the states of Tyrol and Carinthia . It separates the mountains of the Kreuzeck group in the south from the Schober group in the north, both parts of the Hohe Tauern range. The pass road connects Lienz in East Tyrol with Winklern in the Carinthian Möll valley . A bridle path across
30-510: A military post. For instance, Argentina and Chile share the world's third-longest international border , 5,300 kilometres (3,300 mi) long, which runs north–south along the Andes mountains and includes 42 mountain passes. On a road over a pass, it is customary to have a small roadside sign giving the name of the pass and its elevation above mean sea level . Apart from offering relatively easy travel between valleys, passes also provide
45-516: A route between two mountain tops with a minimum of descent. As a result, it is common for tracks to meet at a pass; this often makes them convenient routes even when travelling between a summit and the valley floor. Passes traditionally were places for trade routes, communications, cultural exchange, military expeditions etc. A typical example is the Brenner pass in the Alps . Some mountain passes above
60-736: A style of street racing which may take place on these roads. There are thousands of named passes around the world, some of which are well-known, such as the Khyber Pass close to the present-day Afghanistan-Pakistan border on the ancient Silk Road , the Great St. Bernard Pass at 2,473 metres (8,114 ft) in the Alps , the Chang La at 5,360 metres (17,590 ft), the Khardung La at 5,359 metres (17,582 ft) in Ladakh , India and
75-888: Is also used, particularly in Europe. In the highest mountain range in the world, the Himalayas, passes are denoted by the suffix "La" in Tibetan, Ladhakhi, and several other regional languages. Examples are the Taglang La at 5,328 m (17,480 ft) on the Leh-Manali highway , and the Sia La at 5,589 m (18,337 ft) in the Eastern Karakoram range. Scotland has the Gaelic term bealach (anglicised "balloch"), while Wales has
90-567: The Iselsberg was already built in Roman times, to reach the mines in the Möll valley from Aguntum . The village of Iselsberg is located about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) southwest of the summit. Mountain pass Mountain passes make use of a gap , saddle , col or notch . A topographic saddle is analogous to the mathematical concept of a saddle surface , with a saddle point marking
105-594: The Palakkad Gap at 140 metres (460 ft) in Palakkad , Kerala , India . The roads at Mana Pass at 5,610 metres (18,410 ft) and Marsimik La at 5,582 metres (18,314 ft), on and near the China–India border respectively, appear to be world's two highest motorable passes. Khunjerab Pass between Pakistan and China at 4,693 metres (15,397 ft) is also a high-altitude motorable mountain pass. One of
120-655: The key col ) is effectively a measure of a mountain's topographic prominence . Cols lie on the line of the watershed between two mountains , often on a prominent ridge or arête . For example, the highest col in Austria, the Obere Glocknerscharte ("Upper Glockner Col", 3,766 m (AA) ) lies between the Kleinglockner ( 3,783 m above sea level (AA) ) and Grossglockner ( 3,798 m above sea level (AA) ) mountains, giving
135-503: The source of a river , constituting a drainage divide . A pass may be very short, consisting of steep slopes to the top of the pass, or a valley many kilometers long, whose highest point might only be identifiable by surveying . Roads and railways have long been built through passes. Some high and rugged passes may have tunnels bored underneath a nearby mountainside, as with the Eisenhower Tunnel bypassing Loveland Pass in
150-651: The tree line have problems with snow drift in the winter. This might be alleviated by building the road a few meters above the ground, which will make snow blow off the road. There are many words for pass in the English-speaking world. In the United States, pass is very common in the West , the word gap is common in the southern Appalachians , notch in parts of New England , and saddle in northern Idaho . The term col , derived from Old French,
165-461: The French col ("collar, neck") from Latin collum , "neck", the term tends to be associated more with mountain than hill ranges. The distinction with other names for breaks in mountain ridges such as saddle , wind gap or notch is not sharply defined and may vary from place to place. Many double summits are separated by prominent cols. The height of a summit above its highest col (called
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#1732780657663180-461: The Rockies, to allow faster traffic flow throughout the year. The top of a pass is frequently the only flat ground in the area, and may be a high vantage point. In some cases this makes it a preferred site for buildings. If a national border follows the ridge of a mountain range, a pass over the mountains is typically on the border, and there may be a border control or customs station, and possibly
195-587: The famous but non-motorable mountain passes is Thorong La at 5,416 metres (17,769 ft) in Annapurna Conservation Area , Nepal. Col A col in geomorphology is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks . It may also be called a gap or pass . Particularly rugged and forbidding cols in the terrain are usually referred to as notches . They are generally unsuitable as mountain passes , but are occasionally crossed by mule tracks or climbers' routes. Derived from
210-401: The minimum high point between two valleys and the lowest point along a ridge. On a topographic map , passes can be identified by contour lines with an hourglass shape, which indicates a low spot between two higher points. In the high mountains, a difference of 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) between the summit and the mountain is defined as a mountain pass. Passes are often found just above
225-696: The similar bwlch (both being insular Celtic languages). In the Lake District of north-west England, the term hause is often used, although the term pass is also common—one distinction is that a pass can refer to a route, as well as the highest part thereof, while a hause is simply that highest part, often flattened somewhat into a high-level plateau. In Japan they are known as tōge , which means "pass" in Japanese. The word can also refer to narrow, winding roads that can be found in and around mountains and geographically similar areas, or specifically to
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