Donner Pass
Infamous mountain route
Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada of California, elevation about 7,000 feet, on the route between Sacramento and Reno.
It takes its name from the Donner Party, a group of American pioneers trapped there by snow in the winter of 1846–47, some of whom survived by eating the dead.
The pass remains notorious for severe winter conditions: I-80 through Donner Pass is closed due to blizzard conditions.
Frozen crystalline precipitation
- blizzardViolent prolonged snowstorm
- avalancheRapid mountain snow collapse
- whiteoutSnow blindness weather
- snowboundConfined by winter weather
icy · road closure · snowpack · ski resort · snowshed · frozen · drifts · storm
Ill-fated 1846 wagon train
- cannibalismIntraspecies flesh consumption
- tragedyDisastrous or sorrowful event
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
- snowboundConfined by winter weather
pioneers · emigrants · 1846 · wagon train · westward expansion · manifest destiny · settlers · frontier
Western U.S. mountain range
- CaliforniaWest coast megastate
- summitPeak or diplomatic gathering
- elevationHeight above reference point
- Pacific Crest TrailWest coast hiking route
Lake Tahoe · Sugar Bowl · watershed · granite
snow
Frozen crystalline precipitation
- blizzardViolent prolonged snowstorm
- avalancheRapid mountain snow collapse
- whiteoutSnow blindness weather
snowbound · icy · road closure · snowpack · ski resort · snowshed · frozen · drifts · storm · plowing
Donner Party
Ill-fated 1846 wagon train
- cannibalismIntraspecies flesh consumption
- tragedyDisastrous or sorrowful event
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
snowbound · pioneers · emigrants · 1846 · wagon train · westward expansion · manifest destiny · settlers · frontier · starvation
Sierra Nevada
Western U.S. mountain range
- CaliforniaWest coast megastate
- summitPeak or diplomatic gathering
- elevationHeight above reference point
Pacific Crest Trail · Lake Tahoe · Sugar Bowl · watershed · granite
railroad
Permanent track for trains
route · roadtrip · trucking · commute · Amtrak · freight · Central Pacific · snowshed · traffic · detour
Donner Passcoastal route
Path following the waterline
Panama Canal · Pacific Coast Highway · El Camino Real · sea passage · Mississippi River
Donner PassDeath Valley
Below-sea-level California desert
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