| Mount Arrowsmith | |
| Elevation M: | 1819 |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] |
| Prominence M: | 1429 |
| District: | Cameron Land District |
| Map: | Canada British Columbia |
| Map Size: | 250 |
| Label Position: | left |
| Coordinates: | 49.2236°N -124.5944°W |
| First Ascent: | John Macoun 1887 |
| Easiest Route: | scramble |
Mount Arrowsmith is the highest mountain east of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. Its dominant rock is basalt. The mountain is contained within the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region and as of September 18, 2009 is designated part of 1300abbr=onNaNabbr=on hectare Mt. Arrowsmith Massif Regional Park.
The mountain is named kał-ka-č’ałḥ (Kulth-ka-choolth) meaning Jagged Points Facing Upward in the Tseshaht Nuu-chah-nulth languages.[2] [3]
The first recorded ascent by colonists was made by botanist John Macoun in 1887 led by local Indigenous guide Qualicum Tom and his son James Thomas. Macoun was a botanist to the Geological Survey of Canada. Mount Waddington was first seen from the peak of Mount Arrowsmith by Don and Phyllis Munday in 1925 (see also Mount Munday). The mountain was named about 1853 by Captain Richards for cartographers, Aaron Arrowsmith and his nephew John Arrowsmith.[4]
Mount Arrowsmith has three main biogeoclimatic zones. On the windward, wetter west-facing slopes the Coastal Western Hemlock zone occurs up to 1050sigfig=3NaNsigfig=3, where it grades into the Mountain Hemlock zone. This forms a continuous forest up to 1300abbr=onNaNabbr=on; above is a parkland phase which grades into the Alpine Tundra zone at 1600abbr=onNaNabbr=on. The leeward, east-facing slopes are warmer thanks to more sunshine, and all zone boundaries are higher by 50sigfig=2NaNsigfig=2.[5]