Donner Pass

Donner Pass, pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, where a group of pioneers were trapped by snow during the winter of 1846–47. They were forced to camp at Truckee Lake (now Lonner Lake) 7,135 ft (2,175 m) above sea level. Of the 82 men, women, and children, only 47 survived, avoiding starvation by eating the flesh of those who had died. The pass is now the site of the Donner State Historic Monument.