List of peaks on the Alberta–British Columbia border explained

This is a list of peaks on the Alberta–British Columbia border, being the spine of the Continental Divide from the Canada–United States border to the 120th meridian, which is where the boundary departs from the Continental Divide and goes due north to the 60th parallel. Peaks are listed from north to south and include the four peaks not on the Continental Divide but which are on the 120th Meridian, stretching approximately due north from Intersection Mountain, which as its name implies is located at the intersection of the Divide and the Meridian.

NameAlternate name(s)Elevation (m)CoordinatesLocation/rangeParksBCGNISCGNDBOther citesComments
Dinosaur Ridge1691S side Narraway Rivername was inspired by profile of the ridge; on the 120th Meridian, not on the Continental Divide
Mount Gorman2380[1] on the 120th Meridian, not on the Continental Divide
Kakwa Mountain2295Jarvis PassKakwa-Willmore[2] on the 120th Meridian, not on the Continental Divide
Mount CôtéMount Arthur2391[3] on the 120th Meridian, not on the Continental Divide
Intersection Mountain2461[4] apparently named for its location at the intersection of the Continental Divide and the 120th Meridian
Mount Morkill2267[5]
Mount ForgetDetail Mountain2122Morkill Pass[6] named after the Hon. Amédée Emmanuel Forget (1847–1923), of Banff; last Lieutenant Governor of the North West Territories 1898–1905; first Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, 1905–1910; senator 1911–1923
Mount Talbot2372Shale Pass[7]
Interpass Ridge2301Avalanche Pass/Beaverdam Pass[8] named is derived from location between Beaverdam Pass (SE) and Avalanche Pass (E)
Big Shale HillGreat Shale Hill2405Shale Pass/Morkill Pass[9]
Mount Pauline2650Beaverdam Pass[10]
Perseverance Mountain2434[11]
Jackpine Mountain2555Jackpine Pass/Holmes-Jackpine Rivers[12]
Mount Bess3203Bess Pass[13]
Whiteshield Mountain2555Mount Robson
Treadmill Ridge
Mumm Peak2964Berg LakeMount Robson/Jasper
Upright Mountain2978Mount Robson"upright" because the strata of the mountain have been tilted nearly upright
Mount PhillipsResolution Mountain3246
Tatei RidgeMount Robson"Tatei" means "wind" (language not stated in source)
Titkana Peak"Titkana" means "bird" in the Stoney (Nakoda) language
Chushina RidgeMount Robson"Chushina" means "small" in the Stoney (Nakoda) language
Lynx Mountain3192Mount Robson
Mount MachrayMount RobsonNamed after Robert Machray, DD, (1831–1904), first Anglican Bishop of Rupert's Land
Salient MountainMiette PassMount Robson
Mount McCordMiette PassMount Robsonnamed for the head surveyor in this area of the CPR Survey of 1872
Razorback MountainYellowhead PassMount Robson
Caledonia MountainYellowhead PassMount RobsonCaledonia Valley is an old name for the Yellowhead Pass, and signifies the route used by fur traders to get to the New Caledonia fur district in north-central BC
Mount O'Beirne
Tête Rochename suggested by Tête Jaune ("yellow head"), nickname of the trapper for whom Yellowhead Pass is named (apparently François Decoigne, who was in charge of Jasper House in 1814)
Lucerne Peak2412named because of the vicinity's resemblance to Lucerne, Switzerland
Bingley PeakBingley Mountain
Leather PeakYellowhead PassMount Robsonderived from Leatherhead Pass, one of several alternate/historical names for the Yellowhead Pass
Yellowhead MountainSeven Sisters2488Yellowhead Pass
Miette HillYellowhead PassMount Robson
Kataka MountainMount Robson"kataka" means "fort" (language not specified)
Mount ClairvauxClairvaux Mountainnamed in the sense of "clear valley", i.e. the Yellowhead Pass (not for Clairvaux, France)
Vista PeakMount Robson
Caniche PeakMount Robson"caniche" is French for "poodle"; the peaks resemblance to a poodle prompted the suggestion "Poodle Peak" but the name Caniche was chosen to give it "more class"
Tonquin HillTonquin PassMount Robsonas with Tonquin Valley, Tonquin Pass, Tonquin Creek, apparently named for the ill-fated fur trade ship the Tonquin
Bastion PeakMount Robson
Drawbridge PeakMount Robson
Redoubt PeakMount Robson"redoubt" as in a small fortification/emplacmeent
Dungeon PeakMount Robson
Mount Fraser3313Mount Robsonnamed after explorer Simon Fraser
Paragon PeakMount Robson
Parapet PeakMount Robson
Simon PeakMount Robsonone of the subpeaks of Mt Fraser, named for Simon Fraser
Bennington PeakBennington is the north peak of Mt Fraser, which was named for Simon Fraser, explorer, who was born in Bennington, Vermont, the namesake of this peak
McDonell PeakMount Robsonone of the subpeaks of Mt Fraser
Scarp MountainMount Robson
Mastodon MountainMount Robson
Elephas MountainMount Robson
Whitecrow MountainMount Robsonnamed because of the large number of white crows seen on its face by members of the interprovincial boundary survey
Blackrock MountainMount Robsonnamed for the peak's black rock
Divergence PeakHambernamed because it forms a corner in the interprovincial boundary
Alnus PeakHamberalnus is the Latin word for alder, groves of which are abundant on the mountain
Mount Ross Coxnamed after Ross Cox, author of a book The Columbia River, publ.1832
Mallard PeakHamber
Mount ScottHamberNamed after Capt. Scott of the British Antarctic Expedition
Lick PeakFortress LakeHamber
Mount Oatesnamed after Lawrence Oates, an officer of the British Antarctic Expedition
Mount Ermatingernamed after Edward Ermatinger who with his brother Francis served with the Hudson's Bay Company in the Columbia District from 1818 onwards
Mount HookerAthabasca Passnamed by David Douglas for Sir William Jackson Hooker (1785–1865), distinguished botanist of the time (1827)
McGillivray Ridgenamed after William McGillivray (1764–1825), North West Company partner and politician in Lower Canada
Fortress Mountain3000Fortress LakeHamber
Younghusband Ridgenamed after British Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Younghusband, who led the expedition named for him into Tibet in the 1930s and established relations with the Dalai Lama
Apex Mountain
Chaba PeakFortress Lake"Chaba" is the Stoney (Nakoda) word for "beaver", commemorating Job Beaver, a Stoney from Morley, Alberta, who hunted in this area
Eden Peak
Snow Dome3456Columbia Icefield
Wales Peak
Mount King EdwardColumbia Icefield
Mount Columbia3747Columbia Icefield
Omega PeakColumbia Icefield
Triad Peak
Watchman PeakThompson Pass
Mount Spring-RiceThompson Passnamed in 1919 for Sir Cecil Arthur Spring-Rice (1859–1918); British ambassador to Persia, 1906–1908; British ambassador to Sweden 1908–1913; British ambassador to USA 1913–1918.
Quéant Mountainnamed for Quéant, France, captured by Canadian troops on September 2, 1918
Fresnoy Mountainnamed after Fresnoy, Ainse, France, in commemoration of its liberation by Canadian troops on April 13, 1917
Mount Alexandranamed in 1902 to commemorate Queen Alexandra
Douai Mountainnamed in 1919 to commemorate the town of Douai, France, liberated by Canadian and other Allied troops on 18 October 1918
Oppy Mountain3311named for Oppy, a village 6 mi SE of Lens, France where many Canadian troops died
Farbus Mountainnamed for Farbus, France, on the east slope of Vimy Ridge, to commemorate the Canadians who fought there in World Wa
Mount Lyell3504named in 1858 after Sir Charles Lyell (1795–1875), the noted British geologist
Ernest Peaknamed for Ernest Feuz, of Interlaken, Switzerland, who was one of five climbing guides brought by the CPR to Glacier House. One of five peaks on Mount Lyell named for this group of guides
Walter Peaknamed for Walter Feuz, of Interlaken, Switzerland, who was one of five climbing guides brought by the CPR to Glacier House. One of five peaks on Mount Lyell named for this group of guides
Christian Peaknamed for Christian Hässler, of Interlaken, Switzerland, who was one of five climbing guides brought by the CPR to Glacier House. One of five peaks on Mount Lyell named for this group of guides
Division Mountain
Mons Peaknamed for Mons, Belgium, scene of the first British fighting in World War I, 23 August 1914, and which was recaptured by Canadian troops immediately before the Armistice, 11 November 1918.
St. Julien Mountain3090named for scene of Canadian troops fighting Battle of St. Julien in World War I, April 1915.
Howse Peak3295Howse Pass/hd Blaeberry River
Mount Synge2972named after Capt. M.H. Synge of the Royal Engineers, who advocated a transcontinental railway in 1852
Aiguille Peakhd Blaeberry River[14] aiguille is French for "needle", referring to the peak's shape
Midway Peak
Stairway Peak
Ebon Peaknamed because it appears black when other peaks are covered in snow
Mount Conwaynamed after Sir William Martin Conway, then-president of the Alpine Club, afterwards Baron Conway of Allington (1856–1937), famous mountain climber, and author of works on art and mountaineering; knighted 1895; elevated to the peerage in 1931.
Breaker MountainHowse Pass
Mount Freshfield3337nr hd Valenciennes River
Mount Lambe
Barbette Mountain3072barbette refers to a mound of platform of earth on which gun emplacements are built; the mountain has two platform-like summits
Mount Whiteavesnamed for J.F. Whiteaves, who was a paleontologist for the Geological Survey of Canada
Mount Pilkington
Prior PeakMount Priornamed after Lt. Col Edward Gawlor Prior, commander of the 5th Regiment, Canadian Garrison Artillery, MP, Premier of British Columbia Nov 1902 to June 1903, later Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Dec 18, 1919, until his death on December 12, 1920 [the only Lieutenant Governor to die in office]
Mount Bulyeanamed after the Rt. Hon. George Hedley Vicars Bulyea (1859–1928), first Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, 1905–15
Mount Low
Mount LemanHeight of the Rockiesnamed after General G. Leman, in command of defenses of Liège, Belgium in 1914
Mount Queen Elizabethnamed after Queen Elizabeth of Belgium in 1916; Mount King Albert nearby is named for her husband King Albert
Mistaya Mountain
Mount Barnardnamed in 1917 after the Rt. Hon. Francis Stillman Barnard, then Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia (see Barnard's Express)
Gilgit MountainMount Gilgit
Nanga Parbat Mountainhd Mummery Glaciernamed after Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas, apparently in association with nearby Mount Mummery because its namesake A. F. Mummery had died there
Mount Helmernamed jointly after Brigadier General Richard Alexis Helmer (1864–1920) and his only son Lieutenant Alexis Hannum Helmer (1892–1915)
Mount Barlow
Mount TrutchTrutch Mountainnamed after Sir Joseph William Trutch, colonial official and first Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, 1871–1876
Waitabit Peak
Trapper PeakBanff
Mount BakerStremotch Mountain3180[15]
Mount Habel
Mount RhonddaYoho/Banffnamed after Rhondda, Wales
St. Nicholas PeakYoho/Banffnamed after its resemblance to Santa Claus aka St. Nicholas
Mount Olive
Mount BalfourBalfour PassYoho/Banff
Lilliput MountainYoho/BanffLilliput is the name of a fictional country in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels
Mount DalyYoho/Banffnamed after Charles F. Daly, president of the American Geographical Society 1864–1899
Mount BosworthWapta LakeYoho/Banff
Popes PeakBoundary PeakYoho/Banff
Collier PeakKootenay/Banff
Mount Victoria3464Yoho/Banff[16]
Mount Lefroy3423Yoho/Banff
Mount LittleKootenay
Glacier PeakKootenay
Ringrose PeakYoho
Mount HungabeeHungabee Mountain3,492Bow RangeYoho/Banff
Wenkchemna PeakYoho/Banff"Wenkchemna" means "ten" in Stoney (Nakoda); this is the tenth of the ten-peak Wenkchemna Peaks
Neptuak MountainKootenay/Yoho/Banff"Neptuak" is the Stoney (Nakoda) word for "nine" - this is the ninth of the ten Wenkchmena Peaks. Neptuak Mtn is at the apex of the boundaries of Yoho, Kootenay and Banff Nat'l Parks
Deltaform Mountain3424Kootenay
Mount BowlenKootenay Passnamed after the Hon. John J. Bowlen, Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta at the time of naming (1958)
Mount TuzoKootenay/Banff
Mount FayKootenay
Mount PerrenKootenaynamed after Walter Perren, Chief Warden of Banff Nat'l Park 1955–1967. This is the fifth of the ten Wenkchemna Peaks
Mount LittleKootenay
Mount Allen3210Kootenay/Banff
Quadra MountainMount QuadraKootenaynamed after Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, Spanish explorer of the Northwest Coast
Chimney PeakKootenay
Boom Mountainnamed in association with Boom Lake on its Alberta side, which was named for driftwood that resembled a boom of logs
Storm MountainVermilion PassKootenay
Beatrice PeakBall RangeBanff
Mount BallBall Rangenamed after John Ball (1818–1889), under secretary of state for the colonies, 1855–1857
Isabelle PeakBall RangeKootenay/Banff
Haiduk PeakBall RangeKootenaynamed for the Haiduk region of Hungary or for the Romanian village of Hideghut (also known as Haiduk)
Scarab Peak2918Ball RangeKootenay/Banff[17]
Twin CairnsWa-Wa Ridge, Twin Cairns RidgeMount Assiniboine
Standish HumpStandish RidgeMount Assiniboine
Quartz Hill2580Mount Assiniboine
Fatigue MountainMount Assiniboine
Citadel PeakMount Assiniboine
Golden MountainMount Assiniboine
Nasswald PeakMount Assiniboinenamed after Nasswald, Austria, the home village of climber Conrad Kain
Og MountainAssiniboine PassMount Assiniboinenamed in association with Mount Magog and other Magog/Gog/Og placenames in this area
Cave MountainN side Assiniboine Passthere is a cave on the Alberta (SE) side of the mountain
Mount CautleyAssiniboine Pass
Wonder PeakMount Assiniboine
The TowersMount Assiniboine
Terrapin MountainMount TerrapinMount Assiniboinenamed for resemblance to a terrapin (sea turtle)
Mount Magog
Mount Assiniboine3618Mount Assiniboinefrom Cree means "those who cook with hot stones in water", i.e. the Stoney Sioux or Nakoda
Lunette Peaksee lunette
Mount Gloria2908
Aye MountainMount Aye
Eon MountainMount Eon3305
Aurora MountainMount AuroraMount Assiniboinenamed after RN cruiser HMS Aurora, engaged in battledon the North Sea, January 24, 1915. Not to be confused with Mount Aurora in Antarctica
Windy RidgeWindy PassMount AssiniboineNW side of Og Mountain; see BCGNIS re "Windy Pass" name
Red Man MountainMount Red ManMount Assiniboinenamed after the red colour of its rock, and in contrast to White Man Mountain
Mount LevalHeight of the Rockiesnamed after Gaston de Leval, the Belgian lawyer who defended British nurse Edith Cavell. Cavell had been charged with treason by the Germans for aiding Allied soldiers and was shot by a firing squad, October 12, 1915
White Man MountainMount Assiniboine
Mount RobertsonPalliser Pass/North Kananaskis Passnamed after General Sir William Robertson (1860–1933), chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1915–18. Made a Baronet 1919; field marshal 1920
Mount Sir Douglas3411Palliser Pass/North Kananaskis Passnamed after Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, KT, GCB (1861–1928), Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in France and Belgium, December 1915. Later raised to the perage as the 1st Earl Haig of Bemersyde
Mount WilliamsHeight of the Rockies
Mount King Albert2987named after King Albert I of Belgium in 1916
Mount Maude
Mount BeattyW of hd Pallilser RiverHeight of the Rockiesnamed after Admiral Sir David Beatty, First Earl of the North Sea and of Brooksby, (1871–1936), commander of the Grand Fleet 1916–19
Mount WorthingtonHeight of the Rockies
Mount McHarg2888
Defender Mountainnamed after the destroyer HMS Defender, which fought in the Battle of Jutland, May 31, 1916
Mount Northover3048802. Mount Northover. named in 1917 for Lieut. A.W. Northover of the 28th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force of World War I
Mount TyrwhittElk Passnamed after Rear Admiral Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt GCB, DSO, (1870-), 1st baronet of Terschelling and of the City of Oxford; leader of British destroyer flotillas in WW I, later Admiral of the Fleet
Mount FochElk Lakesnamed after Marshal Ferdinand Foch (1852–1931), hero of the Battle of the Marne, defender of Paris during the Battle of the Somme
Warrior MountainMount Warriornamed after the cruiser HMS Warrior, which was destroyed in the Battle of Jutland, May 31, 1916
Mount CordonnierHeight of the Rockiesnamed after General Cordonnier, command of French forces at the Salonika front, 1916
Unnamed Alberta–BC mountain (formerly Mount Pétain)3196named after Philippe Pétain (1856–1951), French soldier and statesman, a national hero for his defence of Verdun (1916), and was made commander-in-chief (1917) and marshal of France (1918); in World War II he became infamous as a collaborator with Nazi Germany as dictator of Vichy France and was after the war tried for treason and sentenced to death, with that sentence commuted to life imprisonment.
Mount ManginHeight of the Rockiesnamed after General Charles Marie Emmanuel Mangin (1866–1925) of the French Army, who won honours in the Battle of the Labyrinth, 1915, and further distinguished himself the following year at the second Battle of Verdun.
Storelk Mountain
Mount FoxElk Lakesbelieved to be named after Sir Charles Fox (1810–1874) British railway engineer associated with the introduction of the parallel switch."
Mount Joffre3450Elk Lakesnamed after Marshal Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (1852–1931), Commander-in-Chief of the French armies, 1915–17.
Mount Odlumnamed after Major-General Victor Wentworth Odlum, CB, CMG, DSO (1880 - 1953?), Vancouver newspaper editor and insurance broker, commander of the British Columbia Regiment, Canadian Expeditionary Force, WW I; Vancouver MLA, 1924–28; High Commissioner to Australia, 1940; Minister to China, 1942; Minister to Turkey, 1947.
Mount LoomisElk Lakesnamed after Major-General Sir Frederick Oscar Warren Loomis, CMG, DSO, KCB (1870–1937), Montreal manufacturer and contractor; commander of Western Canadian Infantry Brigade in WW I.
Mount McPhailFording River Pass
Mount Bishopnamed after World War I fighter pilot, Air Marshal William Avery Bishop, VC, DSO, MC; ("Billy" Bishop)
Mount MuirFording River Passnamed after Alex Muir (died 1906), author of "The Maple Leaf"
Mount Strachan2682named after Harcus Strachan, VC, MC
Mount MaclarenMount Mclarennamed after Brigadier-General Charles H. Maclaren, DSO, (1878–1962)
Mount Cornwellhd Fording Rivernamed after Jack Cornwell VC, HMS Chester, boy hero of the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916.
Mount Bolton
Mount Armstronghd Fording River
Baril PeakNE of Elkford
Mount EtheringtonFording River Pass
Mount Scringer
Mount Holcroft
Mount Farquhar
Mount GassNE of Elkford
Mount LyallThe Coneimmediately NE of Elkford
Beehive MountainE of Elkfordname is descriptive of shape
Tornado Mountain
Allison PeakThe Needle's EyeCrowsnest PassNamed after Douglas Allison, early settler on Allison Creek (Alberta) and former Royal North-West Mounted Police officer
Phillipps PeakN side Crowsnest Pass
Crowsnest RidgeN side Crowsnest Pass
Loop RidgeW side Crowsnest Pass
Andy Good PeakS side Crowsnest Passnamed after a hotelkeeper at an 1899-era railway boomtown in the pass, Crowsnest)
Tent Mountain
Mount Ptolemysee Ptolemy
Mount McGladrey
Mount Pengelly[18] named in 1914 after the family name of the wife of A.J. Campbell, an assistant to A.O. Wheeler of the Interprovincial Boundary Survey
Mount Darrahnamed after Capt. Charles John Darrah, RE, astronomer to the International Boundary Commission, which with its US counterpart surveyed the BC portion of the 49th parallel 1858–1862.
Hollebeke Mountainnamed after Hollebeke a village near Ypres, Belgium
St. Eloi Mountainnamed after St. Eloi, Belgium, near Ypres, where Canadians fought in 1916
Mount Haig2612Middle Kootenay Pass[19] named after Capt. Robert Wolseley Haig, RA, astronomer to the International Boundary Commission, which with its US counterpart surveyed the BC portion of the 49th Parallel 1858–1862.
Rainy Ridge
Three Lakes Ridge
Scarpe Mountainnamed for the Scarpe River, which flows through Arras, France, where Canadians fought in 1917–18
La Coulotte PeakLa Coulotte is a village near Lens, France
Mount Matkin
La Coulotte RidgeLa Coulotte is a village near Lens, France
Font Mountain
Kishinena PeakSouth Kootenay Passkishinena is the Ktunaxa word for white fir or balsam
Festubert MountainBurgess MountainNamed after Festubert, a village near La Bassée, France, where Canadian troops fought in 1915.
Forum Peak2415just north of the Canada–United States border

See also

Notes and References

  1. 3432. Mount Gorman.
  2. 6675. Kakwa Mountain.
  3. 8486. Mount Côté.
  4. 3440. Intersection Mountain.
  5. 8490. Mount Morkill.
  6. 29252. Mount Forget.
  7. 29249. Mount Talbot.
  8. 8474. Interpass Ridge.
  9. 8475. Big Shale Hill.
  10. 3442. Mount Pauline.
  11. 3443. Perseverance Mountain.
  12. 8483. Jackpine Mountain.
  13. 534. Mount Bess.
  14. L
  15. http://bivouac.com/MtnPg.asp?MtnId=1688 Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia entry "Mount Baker"
  16. http://bivouac.com/MtnPg.asp?MtnId=1591 Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia entry "Mount Victoria"
  17. 8530. Scarab Peak.
  18. 8617. Mount Pengelly.
  19. Haig, Mount.