Traversed by US 95 Range Clearwater Mountains | Elevation 1,294 m | |
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Location Idaho County, Idaho, U.S. Similar Lolo Pass, Lost Trail Pass, Rocky Mountains, Salmon River, Nez Perce National Forest | ||
White Bird Hill Summit is a mountain pass in north central Idaho on U.S. Highway 95. Located in Idaho County, it is midway between White Bird and Grangeville. The summit elevation of the highway is 4,245 feet (1,294 m) above sea level, through a substantial cut.
Map of White Bird Hill Summit, Idaho 83530, USA
The modern multi-lane highway was completed 42 years ago, following ten years of construction which concluded with the opening of the bridge at the base over White Bird Creek in June 1975. The treeless northbound grade climbs 2,700 feet (820 m) in 7 miles (11 km), an average gradient of over 7%.
The original road was completed in 1921 and first paved in 1938, it rose slightly higher to 4,429 feet (1,350 m), due to the absence of a summit cut. Located to the east, the old road was twice the length and had a multitude of switchbacks ascending a treeless slope. On the present highway, the descent north of the summit is less dramatic as the grade drops less than 900 feet (270 m) in the forest with few curves onto the Camas Prairie towards Grangeville at 3,400 feet (1,040 m).
White Bird Hill Summit marks the divide between the Salmon River and the Camas Prairie. The Battle of White Bird Canyon of the Nez Perce War occurred in the valley south of the summit in 1877. Chief White Bird was a respected leader of the Nez Perce tribe.
As far back as the early 1950s, alternatives were proposed; one in 1952 bypassed the summit and Grangeville by continuing down the lower Salmon River and then climbing up Rock Creek to Graves Creek to Cottonwood.