Mount Tecumseh | |
Elevation M: | 2547 |
Elevation Ref: | [1] |
Prominence M: | 929 |
Prominence Ref: | [2] |
Isolation Km: | 6.74 |
Location: | Alberta, Canada |
Range: | High Rock Range Canadian Rockies |
Parent Peak: | Crowsnest Mountain (2,785 m) |
Listing: | Mountains of Alberta |
Etymology: | Tecumseh |
Map: | Canada Alberta#Canada |
Label Position: | right |
Coordinates: | 49.6653°N -114.6461°W |
Coordinates Ref: | [3] |
Rock: | Limestone |
Type: | Fault block |
Easiest Route: | Scrambling south slope |
Mount Tecumseh is a 2547adj=midNaNadj=mid mountain summit located in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada.
Mount Tecumseh is an iconic landmark situated 10km (10miles) west of the town of Coleman in the Crowsnest Pass area and can be seen from Highway 3, the Crowsnest Highway.[4] The mountain anchors the southern end of the High Rock Range and precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the nearby Crowsnest River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises nearly 1200m (3,900feet) above Crowsnest Lake in 3km (02miles). The summit of Mt. Tecumseh lies 1km (01miles) east of the Continental Divide, and the mountain's slightly lower peak, named Phillipps Peak (2506m (8,222feet)), lies directly on the divide above both Crowsnest Pass and Phillipps Pass. The nearest higher neighbor is Crowsnest Mountain, 6.74km (04.19miles) to the northeast.[2]
Mount Tecumseh was named to honor Tecumseh (1768–1813), a Shawnee chief and warrior who became an iconic folk hero in American, Indigenous, and Canadian popular history.[5] [4] The meaning of "Tecumseh" translates as "Shooting Star."[4] The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1957 by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.[3] Phillipps Peak is named after Michael Phillipps who in 1873 was the first white man to cross Crowsnest Pass.[6]
Mount Tecumseh is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was initially uplifted beginning 170 million years ago when the Lewis Overthrust fault pushed an enormous slab of precambrian rocks 31NaN1 thick, 50miles wide and 160miles long over younger rock of the cretaceous period during the Laramide orogeny.[7]
Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Tecumseh has an alpine subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[8] Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C.