road altitudes

[anon125]

as our old RV (and us) don't like crossing mountains...
what is the lowest altitude going from the west coast to the east coast across the mountains.
i was told that I10 is flat but elpaso is 4000 ft up!
thanks all

[Lauren]

2gypsies is right on. I-10.

But would be helpful to know starting and ending points to assist further.

[2gypsies1]

Sorry, I don't understand the 'near Tucson westbound lanes' wording. What state line? Tucson isn't near a state line. It's not a big deal . .

[paulj]

There's a broad area around the state line at 4400'.

At the Texas Canyon rest area 61 miles east of Tucson (and 20 miles west of Wilcox), the west bound lanes are slight higher than east bound, and cross the 5000' contour.

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=I-10+E&daddr=I-10+E&hl=en&ll=32.063737,-110.073695&spn=0.019894,0...

http wrote:
The highest elevation along Interstate 10 occurs just east of Tucson, 20 miles west of Wilcox, at the mile marker 320 exit for the Amerind Foundation and Museum. The westbound lanes of I-10 briefly cross above 5,000 feet above sea level

[2gypsies1]

mdamerell wrote:

I-10 Near Tucson, the westbound lanes of I-10 briefly cross above 5,000 feet above sea level

Tucson is 2640 elevation. Where is it 5,000?

[crabbin_cabin]

fla-gypsy wrote:
Great question, I too am curious

I also am curious since I need supplemental oxygen above 3000 ft. altitude.

[mdamerell]

anon125 wrote:
as our old RV (and us) don't like crossing mountains...
what is the lowest altitude going from the west coast to the east coast across the mountains.
i was told that I10 is flat but elpaso is 4000 ft up!
thanks all

I-10 Near Tucson, the westbound lanes of I-10 briefly cross above 5,000 feet above sea level

I-40 Flagstaff, is highest elevation along I-40 in the US, as the road crosses just over 7,320 feet.

I-70 at Eisenhower Tunnel elevation of 11,013 feet

I-80 reaches its maximum elevation of 8,640 feet (2,633 m) above sea level between Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming.

I-90 Homestake Pass, WY, which is 6,329 feet (1929 m.) in elevation, the highest point for the Interstate.

When I ran long haul I looked at weather and time of year. Normally avoided I-70 west of Denver unless I was light and it was summer. LA to Indy we use to run 40 and just watched it around Flagstaff. I'd be more concerned about the grade than the elevation. I-70 has some steep grades west of Denver.

[amandasgramma]

We have DeLorme's topical map program on our computers. We can not only figure a "path", but we can see where the highest mountains are and figure out what the rate of ascent is. I highly recommend it. We, too, have to take the mountains into consideration when traveling.

[SRT]

fla-gypsy wrote:

anon125 wrote:
thanks but nobody has answered the question!
we have the mountains west book

X2, what is the lowest decent highway crossing in the north and south?

US Highway 2 in the north. Just a hair over 5,000 feet.

[paulj]

El Paso is on the Rio Grande River, which flows from southern Colorado south to the border, and then SE to the Gulf. So it has to be lower than anything upstream. Considering that Denver is 5000' (mile high city), and much of Wyoming is in the 7-8000' level, it is hard to think of anything that could be lower than El Paso.

Now the actual continental divide on I10 is further west, but the grades are gentle.

As for US2 in the north, the continental divide is Marias Pass just south of Glacier Nat. park. On Google Maps (Terrain mode) I see it is about 5200'. This is the lowest pass in the northern USA Rockies. Stevens Pass in Washington is in the Cascade Mtns, and is about 4200'. I90 Snoqualamie Pass is lower, and I84 through the Columbia River Gorge is a near sealevel route through the Cascades.

But important distinction for the OP should be, is it altitude or grades that are a problem. Pre fuel injection gas motors do loose power with altitude, though retuning can improve performance. More modern ones with fuel injectors and computer controls can compensate for the lower air density, so the effect is not so noticeable.

But apparently some humans do have problems breathing at high altitudes. Everyone gets short of breath at 10,000', but for a few 5000' may pose problems. But those individuals should be aware that airplane cabin pressure might be as low as 6000-8000' equivalent. So a person who has problems living in Denver, would also have problems flying almost anywhere.

Grades are a different matter. And as long as an RV stays on freeways, it shouldn't have problems with any cross country route. But overall I'd rank I10 as easiest, followed by I8 (some grades in Calif), I40, I80/I84, I80, I90, with I70 as most strenuous (west of Denver).

I see the OP flies the Canadian flag. Kicking Horse Pass on the AB/BC border is 5300', with Calgary aroung 3500'. Crowsnest Pass (Hwy3) is lower at 4300', with barely noticeable grades. 16 through Jasper does not get above 4000' (1200m).

[anon125]

thanks for all your great help

[2gypsies1]

The answer is definitely I-10. Even though ElPaso, TX is 3800' elevation it's not like you're going from sea level to 3800' in one mile. 🙂 You won't even notice the 'climb'.

That is true for any city elevation you look at. You have to take into account where the climb starts & at what elevation, then how long of a climb it is to get to the top elevation. Many folks get shakey seeing an elevation of say, 9,000'. But if you start the climb at 8,000' it's no big deal.

If you stay away from higher elevations you will be missing a lot of beauty of our country! We use the Mountain Directory all the time. Also, I just looked at the above link to Diesel Power magazine and it seems we've been on all those roads mentioned for the west.... We're not in the east much.

If you tell us where you're starting from and where you want to end, perhaps we could help a little more. Have a great trip - however!

[Jim_Shoe]

Well, anonymous, "The West Coast" is 1200 miles long. If you have Streets and Trips, you could change the view to "Terrain Map" instead of "Road Map" and do it yourself, or we'll do it for you if you tell us where your start and end points are. So far, all we know is that your starting point is "anywhere".
BTW, "Mountain Directory West" only describes roads with major changes in altitude. If your proposed route isn't mentioned in MDW, then you're good to go.

[Orion]

there's a sign on US Rt 2 in Steven's Pass that claims that that is the lowest altitude pass across the Rockies between Canada and Mexico.

Yet, just a little to the South, on the I 90, going through the same mountain range, is Snoqualmie Pass, which at just over 3000', is quite a bit lower than Steven's Pass which is just over 4000'.
By far the flattest route across the mountains is the I 10.

[enblethen]

Coming from the east I-40 and then I 10 would be the lowest route

[agesilaus]

This is a list of supposedly the 10 worst grades:

Diesel Power mag