Mount John Laurie Explained

Mount John Laurie
Other Name:Îyâmnathka, Mount Yamnuska
Elevation M:2240
Range:Canadian Rockies
Listing:Mountains of Alberta
Location:Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8, Alberta, Canada
Map:Canada Alberta
Map Size:250
Label Position:right
Coordinates:51.1242°N -115.1183°W
Coordinates Ref:[1]
Type:Limestone and shale
Age:Paleozoic
First Ascent:Unknown
Easiest Route:Scramble

Mount John Laurie is a mountain in the Canadian Rockies, in Alberta's Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8.

Various names

Officially named Mount John Laurie in 1961,[2] it is also known as Mount Laurie, or by its original Stoney Nakoda name Îyâmnathka, borrowed into English as Mount Yamnuska or simply Yamnuska. Îyâmnathka is a compound that includes root words meaning "mountain" and "flat",[3] however it is usually translated more figuratively as "flat-faced mountain".[4]

John Lee Laurie, 1899–1959, was a founder of the Indian Association of Alberta. The mountain's 1961 renaming came at the request of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation. Laurie, an educator and political activist, served as secretary of the Indian Association of Alberta from 1944 to 1956, promoting the causes of First Nations in Alberta.[5]

Peak and climbing

Standing at approximately above sea level,[6] Mount John Laurie is the last mountain on the north side of the Bow River valley (Bow Valley) as it exits the mountains for the foothills and prairie of Alberta. Located close to Calgary, it is a popular "great scramble". It is also a popular rock climbing destination, with over 100 routes of all difficulty levels spread out across its face.

Geology

Mount John Laurie is the result of the McConnell Thrust Fault, which put the resistive, cliff-forming Cambrian carbonate rock of the Eldon Formation on top of the much younger and weaker Cretaceous aged, clastic Belly River Formation[7] The fault, which sits at the base of the cliff face, represents an age difference of around 450 million years.

Spirituality

In 1987 Mount John Laurie was listed into a global network of natural spiritual places, which also included Mount Fuji in Japan, Stonehenge, Mount Shasta, Machu Picchu in Peru, Australia's Uluru, and the pyramids of the Yucatán.[8]

Notes and References

  1. IAQXU. Mount Laurie (Îyâmnathka). 2019-06-14.
  2. 1554. Yamnuska . 2014-03-25.
  3. Book: Boles . Glen W. . Roger W. . Laurilla . William L. . Putnam . Canadian Mountain Place Names . registration . Vancouver . Rocky Mountain Books . 2006 . 275 . 978-1-894765-79-4.
  4. Web site: Stoney Nakoda Dictionary Online . Stoney Education Authority . 2023-10-02.
  5. Web site: John Lee Laurie . Society of Alberta archives . 2014-03-19.
  6. Web site: Traverse of Mount Yamnuska - Scramble . Outdoor Escapade . 2014-03-19.
  7. McMechan, M.E., 1995, Geology, Rocky Mountain Foothills and Front Ranges in Kananaskis Country, Alberta. Geological Survey of Canada. Map 1865A, scale 1:100 000.
  8. Book: Jodie . Ann Vann . Spiritual Economy: Resources, Labor, and Exchange in Glastonbury and Sedona. 200. pdf. 1065539307. August 1, 2018. April 17, 2021. ASU Digital Repository. archive.is. https://web.archive.org/web/20210417165123/https://core.ac.uk/reader/161995202. April 17, 2021. live. (PhD dissertation)