Isabel Pass
mountain pass of Alaska, US
Isabel Pass (sometimes Delta River Pass) (; Ahtena: Dzeł Ghatgge, "between the mountains") is a 40 mile long gap in the eastern section of the Alaska Range which serves as a corridor for the Richardson Highway about 11 miles from Paxson. It is named after Isabelle Barnette, the wife of E. T. Barnette, who helped found Fairbanks. The pass separates four regions, the Tanana Valley to the north, the Delta Mountains to the east, Copper River Basin to the south, and the Hayes Range to the west.
It is one of three highway passes of the Alaska Range, the others being Windy Pass for the George Parks Highway and Mentasta Pass for the Tok Cut-Off.
Geography
Isabel Pass is also known as the Delta River Valley or the Delta River Pass. It is approximately bounded by Phelan Creek sourced by the Gulkana Glacier at the south, to Donnelly Dome to the north. The area has been heavily affected by various glaciations. Castner Glacier is located on its southern end.
It is one of the drainage divides of the Alaska Range. To the north, is the Yukon River drainage that flows into the Bering Sea, and to the south is the Copper River drainage that flows into the Pacific Ocean.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Isabel Pass” as mountain pass of Alaska, US. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as mountain pass of Alaska, US. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q14680031. Authority coordinates are 63.188, -145.558. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Isabel Pass” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.