{"nrhp_refnum":"66000210","name":"Walker Pass","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"60 mi. NE of Bakersfield on CA 178","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bakersfield","county":"Kern County","state":"CA","lat":35.66460905200006,"lon":-118.02450672974442,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1961-07-04","areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Walker Pass is a natural mountain pass (5,246 feet) in the southern Sierra Nevada, reached by Highway 178 about 60 miles east-northeast of Bakersfield, Kern County, California. It is a landscape site with no standing historic buildings.","why_significant":"The pass is tied to the explorer Joseph R. Walker, who used it in 1834, 1843 and 1845. His 1834 exit from California was the first known Euro-American passage through the pass. He later guided the Chiles emigrant party (1843) and John C. Fremont's expedition (1845) through it. These events are argued to have contributed to the American exploration and settlement of California.","narrative":"Walker Pass is a natural gap through the southern Sierra Nevada, at 5,246 feet, about 60 miles east-northeast of Bakersfield in Kern County, California. Highway 178 now crosses it. The pass is named for Joseph R. Walker, a fur trapper and guide, and the name was suggested by John C. Fremont in 1844. Walker and his men returned through the pass in 1834 after crossing the Sierra near Yosemite Valley, in what is described as the first known Euro-American passage. In 1843 he led the Chiles emigrant party through it, the first American emigrant party to do so. In 1845 he guided the main body of Fremont's expedition through it. The nomination ties these events to the American exploration and settlement of California. No cultural features from that period survive within the pass, but the setting is described as largely unchanged apart from a highway, trail, signs and a commemorative monument.","period_of_significance":"1834-1845","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"The pass is described as having a high degree of physical and visual integrity, with later additions such as a paved highway, trail, signs and a commemorative monument counted as noncontributing.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.133907-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/66000210_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000210/464131dd38-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000210/464131dd38-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"WACGuy (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SR178_5000_Elevation.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">WACGuy (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SR178_5000_Elevation.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857911","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_Pass","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3565409"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/kern-county/walker-pass-66000210/"}