Rogers Pass

Rogers Pass was named in 1887 after A.B. Rogers a surveyor for the Great Northern Railway. Located east of Lincoln, Montana, it carries Hwy 200 leading from Missoula to Great Falls.

Spanning the Continental Divide, the pass is one of the headwater sources for the Blackfoot River.

As this passage is relatively low at 5,610’, extreme weather conditions can occur as the colder climate east of the divide often collides with the warmer and wetter conditions west of the Continental Divide. An example occurred on January 20, 1954, in a former mining camp just below the pass’s west side when the temperature dropped to 70 degrees below zero, the lowest temperature ever recorded in lower 48 states. This was a case of deep arctic air that had invaded the prairie seeping across Rogers Pass a gap in the higher mountains to the north and south.

Rogers is a great place to observe golden eagles and other raptors. Strong westerly winds help migrating flocks cross the Continental Divide to spend the summer months on the prairie amongst the many buttes scattered east of the mountain front. In October they traverse the pass and divide again, heading westward to numerous locations in western Montana.