Teofulio Summit facts for kids
Teofulio Summit is a special place in San Diego County, California. It's a low point, or a pass, in the Peninsular Ranges mountains. This pass is 3,681 feet high. It was once called Warner Pass.
The summit is named after Teofulio Helm (1874-1967). He was an important person from the Cupeno Band of Mission Indians. He lived and worked in this area for many years.
Teofulio Summit is the lowest way to cross the Peninsular Ranges for a long distance. To the north, the next low pass is San Gorgonio Pass, about 50 miles away in Riverside County. To the south, San Matias Pass is 200 miles away in the Baja California Peninsula.
This summit also acts like a natural dividing line for water. Water on the eastern side flows towards the Salton Sink. Water on the western side flows into streams that eventually reach the Pacific Ocean.
History of Teofulio Summit
Teofulio Summit has been an important travel route for hundreds of years. Mexican soldiers first discovered this pass. It soon became part of a major road called the Sonora Road.
The Sonora Road
The Sonora Road helped people travel between Alta California (which is now California) and Sonora, Mexico. This road was very important because it reopened land travel in the late 1820s. Before this, a conflict called the Yuma Revolt in the 1780s had made this route unsafe.
The Southern Emigrant Trail
Later, the pass became known as Warner Pass. It was named after Juan Jose Warner, who owned a large property nearby called Warner's Ranch. This pass was a key part of the Southern Emigrant Trail.
The Southern Emigrant Trail was a main route for Americans moving to California from the eastern United States in the mid-1800s. It helped travelers cross the mountains from the Colorado Desert to the coastal areas of Southern California.
This pass was the main way to enter Southern California for many years. Its importance lasted until the 1870s. That's when the Southern Pacific Railroad finished building its tracks. The railroad went through San Gorgonio Pass all the way to Yuma, Arizona.
