Marias Pass Memorial Square: Roosevelt Obelisk, Stevens

Marias Pass (el. 5213 ft/1589 m) is a high mountain pass near Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana in the United States.
The pass traverses the Continental Divide in the Lewis Range, along the boundary between the Lewis and Clark National Forest and the Flathead National Forest. The pass forms the southern limit of the Continental Ranges, a major grouping of the Rocky Mountains which extends as far north as McGregor Pass in the Northern Rockies of the Canadian province of British Columbia. During the winter, the pass is the only way to cross the Continental Divide by road in the United States north of Montana's Rogers Pass.
The pass was charted by John Frank Stevens, principal engineer of the Great Northern Railway (GN), in December 1889. The location of the pass had been rumored for several years, but it took Stevens and a Flathead Indian guide named Coonsah to discover it. The pass proved ideal for a railroad, because its approach was broad and open, within a valley ranging from one to six miles wide, and at a gentle grade. Construction of the railroad through the pass began 1890, followING the Middle Fork of the Flathead River west of the Continental Divide.
A memorial to President Theodore Roosevelt was constructed along the Continental Divide at the top of the pass. Construction from 1930-31, The obelisk is 60 feet high and extends 19 feet into the ground. It has a tapering cement core covered on all sides with 7-inch slabs of Montana granite quarried near Helena. It was later decided to build an obelisk instead of an archway.
Today, U.S. Route 2 uses the pass, along with the BNSF Railway linking Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. A statue of John Frank Stevens stands at the summit of Marias Pass. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marias_Pass