The following is a list of mountain passes and gaps in California. California is geographically diverse with numerous roads and railways traversing within its borders. In the middle of the U.S. state lies the California Central Valley, bounded by the coastal mountain ranges in the west, the Sierra Nevada to the east, the Cascade Range in the north and the Tehachapi Mountains in the south. Although most of these passes are now traversed by state highways, some date prior to California's statehood in 1850 and are today registered as California Historical Landmarks.
Beckwourth Pass ... was discovered in 1851 by James P. Beckwourth
On this spot, the summit of the Kit Carson Pass, stood the Kit Carson Tree on which the famous scout Kit Carson inscribed his name in 1844 when he guided the then Captain John C. Frémont, head of a government exploring expedition, over the Sierra Nevada
The Emigrant Trail through Ebbetts Pass, discovered by and named after Major John Ebbetts, was opened up in the early 1850s
This spot marks the convergence of two pioneer trails used by emigrants during the years 1846-1850
Here, on Christmas Day, 1846, natives and soldiers from the Presidio of Santa Barbara lay in ambush for Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont ... [he] learned of the plot and ... came instead over the San Marcos Pass to capture Santa Barbara
In 1776, Father Francisco Garcés used the Oak Creek Pass to return to the Mojave after exploring the San Joaquin Valley
On June 21, 1805, on his first exploratory journey into the San Joaquin Valley, Lieutenant Gabriel Moraga traversed and recorded this pass
Discovered by Joseph R. Walker, American trailblazer, who left the San Joaquin Valley through this pass in 1834