Tioga Pass

Tioga Pass
	View of the Tioga Pass road
Pass height	3031 m
expansion	California State Route 120
Winter closure	Oct./Nov. - May / Jun.
Mountains	Sierra Nevada
particularities	highest pass in California
	map
Coordinates	37 ° 54 '40 " N , 119 ° 15' 29" W Coordinates: 37 ° 54 '40 " N , 119 ° 15' 29" W.

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The Tioga Pass is a 3031 m high mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada in California . The California State Route 120 runs over him. At the same time, the Tioga Pass is the eastern access point to the Yosemite National Park . It is the highest highway pass in California and the Sierra Nevada. Mount Dana is east of the Tioga Pass . There are a number of hiking routes into the Yosemite National Park hinterland that start from here. A trail leads west northwest to the Gaylor Lakes . The summit of Mount Dana can also be reached from here. The Dana Meadows are just south of the pass along the highway. The name Tioga Pass was given by the New York mining company of the same name, Tioga Mines. The term Tioga came from the Iroquois and Mohawk Indians and roughly means: where there is a fork.

The pass road has a gentle rise from the west, while east of the pass it descends steeply to Lee Vining on Mono Lake . The descent to US Highway 395 is over 900 meters in altitude. The Tioga Road west of the pass within the park and the Big Oak Flat Road that continues down into the Yosemite Valley are designated as a National Scenic Byway because of the attractiveness of the landscape through which they drive .

The pass is closed in winter due to heavy snow masses. Depending on the weather, it will be open from May / June and closed from October / November.

The Tioga Pass is the shortest route from Bishop or Mammoth Lakes to Fresno , Merced and Stockton . There are four other mountain passes north of the Tioga between Yosemite and Lake Tahoe . The next pass over the Sierra Nevada to the south is the Sherman Pass , about 300 km away in southern Tulare County .