At an elevation of the
Cajon Pass is a moderate-elevation
mountain passIn a range of hills, or especially of mountains, a pass is a path that allows to cross a mountain chain, it is usually a saddle point in between two areas of higher elevation. If following the lowest possible route through a range, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
between the
San Bernardino MountainsThe San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
and the
San Gabriel MountainsThe San Gabriel Mountains are located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the Mojave Desert. This Transverse Range lies in and is surrounded by the Angeles National...
in Southern
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was created by the movements of the
San Andreas FaultThe San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that runs a length of roughly through California in the United States. The fault's motion is right-lateral strike-slip...
. The pass provides an important economic link from the Greater San Bernardino Area and Los Angeles to Victor Valley and the
Mojave DesertThe Mojave Desert , , locally referred to as the High Desert, occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
in the
Inland EmpireThe Inland Empire is a large metropolitan area located in Southeastern California, consisting of two counties, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. With a population of over 4 million people, it is the second largest metropolitan area in Southern California, third in California, 14th largest in...
, and north to
Las VegasThe Las Vegas metropolitan area, also known as the Las Vegas-Paradise-Henderson Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, consisting of Clark County. A central part of the metropolitan area is the Las Vegas Valley, a basin in which is...
.
In 1851, a band of
Mormon