Astor Pass

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The Astor Pass is located northwest of Pyramid Lake between the lake and Sand Pass on Highway 445. Astor a station on the Fernley and Lassen Railway is nearby.

The name may refer to John Jacob Astor, an early fur trader, whose grandson, John Jacob Astor IV, died on the Titanic in April, 1912 during the time the railway was being built. However, 1885 and 1907 maps shows the name Astor for the area.[1][2][3]

Fossils have been found in the area.[4]

Pyramid and Winnemucca Lakes, showing Astor Pass (Russell 1885).

References

  1. Helen S. Carlson, "Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary", p. 179.
  2. Israel Cook Russell, "Geological History of Lake Lahontan: A Quaternary Lake of Northwestern Nevada," 1885.
  3. "Nevada And The Southeastern Portion Of California," Third Edition, The Clason Map Company, Denver, Colorado, 1907. Shows Astor Pass.
  4. John C. Merriam, "An Occurrence of Mammalian Remains in a Pleistocene Lake Deposit at Astor Pass Near Pyramid Lake, Nevada," Bulletin of the Department of Geology, Vol. 8 No. 21 pp. 377-384, University of California, February 25 1915.