| Mount Coulthard | |
| Elevation M: | 2645 |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] |
| Prominence M: | 255 |
| Prominence Ref: | [2] |
| Isolation Km: | 1.38 |
| Parent Peak: | Andy Good Peak (2,662 m) |
| Etymology: | R. W. Coulthard (1875–1946) |
| Map: | Canada Alberta#Canada |
| Map Size: | 200 |
| Label Position: | right |
| Location: | Castle Wildland Provincial Park Alberta, Canada |
| Range: | Flathead Range Canadian Rockies |
| Coordinates: | 49.5581°N -114.5703°W |
| Coordinates Ref: | [3] |
| Rock: | Limestone |
| Type: | Fault block |
| Easiest Route: | Scrambling via NW slope[4] |
Mount Coulthard is a mountain straddling the border between Alberta and British Columbia in Canada.[3] It is part of the Flathead Range which is a subset of the Canadian Rockies. The mountain is set on the Continental Divide, in Castle Wildland Provincial Park. It is situated in the Crowsnest Pass area and can be seen from Highway 3, the Crowsnest Highway.[5]
Mount Coulthard is named after Major Robert Wilson Coulthard (born December 6, 1875), a prominent Canadian mining engineer. He was general manager of the West Canadian Coal Company, engineer at Crow's Nest Pass Coal Company from 1901–1908, and a Major with the 2nd Canadian Tunnelling Company.[6] [7] The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1928 by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.[3]
Mount Coulthard is composed of limestone, a sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger Cretaceous period rock during the Laramide orogeny.
Mount Coulthard contains a 370m (1,210feet) long and 61.2m (200.8feet) deep cave on its northern face called Coulthard Cave. It was discovered in 1968 by Monica and Tammy Morris and has a 7m (23feet) in diameter entrance.[8]
Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Coulthard has an alpine subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[9] Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C.