road altitudes

I-10 in New Mexico at Lordsburg near the border of Arizona is 4250 elevation.
I-10 in Arizona at Wilcox (the highest in Arizona on I-10) is 4259 elevation.
I-10 at Tucson, west of Wilcox is 2643 elevation.

As you can see, the elevation 'climbs' on I-10 in Arizona are mild and very easy to drive.

Altitude in the southwest can be deceiving. The south rim of the Grand Canyon is at 7000' and the north rim is at 8000'. Bryce Canyon is around 8000-9000'.

I am sure you have seen pictures of people there but it does not appear to be so "high".

Your concern crossing the mountains should be about the grade and not the altitude. The I-10 grade is not noticable except there are are several grades that will get your attention for a short period of time. You will see a sign on I-10 notifying you are crossing the Contential Divide and are up around 4000' - but it comes at a complete surprise as the climb is so gradual.

There are other more pressing concerns when traveling out west - and wind is the one on my list that I watch. The wide expanse doesn't stop the winds and they can get pretty gusty. If in loose sand area sand storms are a real danger.

As for a grade to avoid - I would stay away from I-70 thru Colorado but it is one of the most beautiful drives in America.

You know I hate Mountain passes also as I have horrible fear of heights but I've taken 90 thru the Rockies and 80 and even 40 without issues at all because the roads are 3 and 4 lanes. What about taking 15 to 80, I haven't done that but it doesn't look bad at all lots of places to stop.

I-10 crosses the Contential Divide in New Mexico at 4585 ft. It is a slow climb and does catch you by surprise when you get there.
I-10 in Arizona does get above 5000 ft.

anon125 wrote:

Quick trip wrote:
Try bringing up "Google Earth" and put your mouse arrow on where you are leaving from and start to drag the arrow along your proposed route.
This way you will see the elevation changes as you go!
The elevation shows up in the middle at the bottom of the page.
I hope this helps?
Good Luck & Drive Safe!

great - how do i get it to show more towns so i know where i am!
all i see is faint lines - maybe there is a map view and still have the altitudes.
thanks

Use the mouse wheel and zoom in to the desired level or in the upper right area there is a +/- bar that also allows you to zoom in and out.

I've used that feature many times to see the elevation of a pass or campground is.

Hey those are the fun roads that go to interesting places.

BK

Grade is only a concern to me when it is beside the road I'm driving, with no guard rails, and nearly straight down for more than a coupled hundred feet!

PartyMarty wrote:
If you are talking interstates then I- 10 is the lowest , easiest .
Worst will be anything through Colorado .
I do not recall west texas as being anything of concern .

Definitely, it is more about local grade. People will drive across Kansas from Missouri to Colorado, climb 4000 feet and talk about how flat it was. They will go across southern Missouri on I-44, never get above 1100 feet or below 600 feet, but with short steep changes of 200-300 feet and talk about how they went through the Ozark mountains. There were no mountains on their route, just some short steep grades.

I think what you're doing is over thinking listed elevations...as an example...if you drove from Houston to Denver the preferred route would be:
I 45 north to US287(just south of Dallas) all the way to Limon, Co. A elevation change of 5,000' and yet not encounter one grade...for the most part flat driving. When you see elevation listings for cities and towns rarely are there any immediate climbs to arrive at that location. You mentioned the El Paso elevation and seemed concerned with that, but there is no immediate grade/climb to get there.

I-10 follows the lowest route across the country. But you will still see at least 4000 feet before you get to the Pacific Ocean. The highway and railroad pass east of El Paso is the lowest pass across the Rockies in the U.S. You'll be at 4000-5000 feet all the way from west Texas to Tucson.

I-40 you reach 5000 feet around the New Mexico - Texas line, run 6000-7500 feet across New Mexico and Arizona.

At I-70 you reach 5000 at Limon, Colorado, almost 4000 before you get out of Kansas, will see at least 11,000 before descending onto the Colorado Plateau to run at 5000-8000 feet.

At I-80 you reach 5000 around Laramie, cross Wyoming at 9000-1000 feet.

At I-90 your reach 5000 somewhere around Bozeman, because the highway stays in the Yellowstone valley a long way before trying to climb over the Rockies. I-90 stays lower than I-80 and I-70 by staying in valleys. You will still run at higher altitudes than on I-10 and have sections with significant grades crossing ridges between valleys.