The Continental Ranges is a major grouping of mountain ranges in the Rocky Mountains located in eastern British Columbia and western Alberta. It is a physiographic designation for use by geologists and is not used by the general public; it is not recognized in Alberta, and does not appear on topographic maps, [1] although the names of its subranges (the Kootenay, Park or Main Ranges, and Front Ranges) are in common use. It is the largest and best-known of the three main such subdivisions of the Canadian Rockies, the others being the Hart Ranges and the Muskwa Ranges. [2]
There are three main subdivisions of the Continental Ranges: the Front Ranges, the Park Ranges, and the Kootenay Ranges. Each of those three subdivisions is further divided into individual ranges as follows:
Yoho National Park is a national park of Canada. It is located within the Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the Continental Divide of the Americas in southeastern British Columbia, bordered by Kootenay National Park to the south and Banff National Park to the east in Alberta. The word Yoho is a Cree expression of amazement or awe, and it is an apt description for the park's spectacular landscape of massive ice fields and mountain peaks, which rank among the highest in the Canadian Rockies.
The Canadian Rockies or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, which is the northern segment of the North American Cordillera, the expansive system of interconnected mountain ranges between the Interior Plains and the Pacific Coast that runs northwest–southeast from central Alaska to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico.
Kootenay National Park is a national park of Canada in southeastern British Columbia. The park consists of 1,406 km2 (543 sq mi) of the Canadian Rockies, including parts of the Kootenay and Park mountain ranges, the Kootenay River and the entirety of the Vermilion River. While the Vermilion River is completely contained within the park, the Kootenay River has its headwaters just outside the park boundary, flowing through the park into the Rocky Mountain Trench and eventually joining the Columbia River. The park ranges in elevation from 918 m (3,012 ft) at the southwestern park entrance to 3,424 m (11,234 ft) at Deltaform Mountain.
Highway 93 is a north–south highway in Alberta, Canada. It is also known as the Banff-Windermere Parkway south of the Trans-Canada Highway and the Icefields Parkway north of the Trans-Canada Highway. It travels through Banff National Park and Jasper National Park and is maintained by Parks Canada for its entire length. It runs from the British Columbia border at Vermilion Pass in the south, where it becomes British Columbia Highway 93, to its terminus at the junction with the Yellowhead Highway at Jasper. The route takes its number from U.S. Route 93, which runs uninterrupted south to central Arizona, and was initially designated as '93' in 1959.
Height of the Rockies Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian Rockies of south eastern British Columbia, Canada. It is located west of the Continental Divide, adjacent to Elk Lakes Provincial Park.
Saint Nicholas Peak is a 2,938-metre (9,639-foot) mountain summit in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. It is located on the Continental Divide, on the Alberta-British Columbia border, in both Banff National Park and Yoho National Park. It lies at the eastern edge of the Wapta Icefield, and is part of the Waputik Mountains which are a sub-range of the Canadian Rockies.
The Waputik Icefield is located on the Continental divide in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. It is developed on the heights of the Waputik Range in the Central Main Ranges.
The Wapta Icefield is a series of glaciers located on the Continental Divide in the Waputik Mountains of the Canadian Rockies, in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, in Yoho National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The icefield is shared by Banff and Yoho National Parks and numerous outlet glaciers extend from the icefield, including the Vulture, Bow and Peyto Glaciers. Runoff from the icefields and outlet glaciers supply water to both the Kicking Horse and Bow Rivers, as well as numerous streams and lakes.
The Canadian Rockies are a segment of the North American Rocky Mountains found in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.
Alberta's Rockies comprise the Canadian Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada. On the southwestern part of the province along the British Columbia border, the region covers all but the south of Census Division 15.
The Kootenay Ranges, also known as the Western Ranges, are one of the three main subdivisions of the Continental Ranges which comprise the southern half of the Canadian Rockies, the other two subdivisions being the Front Ranges and the Park Ranges. The Kootenay Ranges lie between the Bull River (E) and the town of Golden, British Columbia (W) and south of Kicking Horse Pass, and are the location of the headwaters of the Kootenay River
Mount Balfour is a mountain located on the Continental Divide, part of the border between British Columbia and Alberta, in the Waputik Range in the Park Ranges of the Canadian Rockies. It is the 71st highest peak in Alberta and the 113th highest in British Columbia; it is also the 52nd most prominent in Alberta.
Neptuak Mountain was named by Samuel E.S. Allen in 1894. "Neptuak" is the Stoney Indian word for "nine" as Neptuak Mountain is peak #9 in the Valley of the Ten Peaks. It is located on the Continental Divide, which is also the British Columbia-Alberta border in this region, and is in the Bow Range of the Park Ranges of the Canadian Rockies. The summit is a tripoint for Banff National Park, Kootenay National Park, and Yoho National Park, where the three parks share a common border.
Vermilion Pass, elevation 1,680 m or 5,510 ft, is a high mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies, traversing the continental divide. It connects Kootenay National Park in the province of British Columbia with Banff National Park in Alberta.
The Park Ranges, also known as the Main Ranges, are a group of mountain ranges in the Canadian Rockies of southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta, Canada. It is one of the three main subranges and the most central of the Continental Ranges, extending from southeast of Mount McGregor to the Fernie Basin.
The Banff–Windermere Highway, also known as the Banff-Windermere Parkway, is a 105 km (65 mi) highway which runs through the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia and Alberta in Canada. It runs from Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia to Castle Junction, Alberta, passing through Kootenay National Park and Banff National Park. It is designated as part of British Columbia Highway 93 and Alberta Highway 93.
Chaba Peak is located in the Chaba Icefield south of Fortress Lake in Hamber Provincial Park on the Continental Divide marking the Alberta-British Columbia border. It was named in 1920 after the Chaba River by the Interprovincial Boundary Survey. Chaba is the Stoney Indian word for beaver.
Division Mountain is located on the Continental Divide along the Alberta - British Columbia border of Canada. It also straddles the shared boundary of Banff National Park with Kootenay National Park in the Canadian Rockies. It was named in 1919 by Charles D. Walcott since the mountain divides the Lyell Icefield from the Mons Icefield.
Mount Olive is located N of the head of the Yoho River on the Continental Divide, on the Alberta-British Columbia border, in both Banff National Park and Yoho National Park. It lies on the eastern edge of the Wapta Icefield, and is part of the Waputik Mountains. It was named in 1898 by H.B. Dixon after his wife Dixon, Olive.
The Waputik Mountains are a mountain range of the Canadian Rockies, located on the Continental Divide between Banff and Yoho National Park. Covering an area of 1,069 square kilometres (413 sq mi), the range is located west of the Howse, Blaeberry and Amiskwi Rivers and east of the Bow and Mistaya Rivers and south to Kicking Horse Pass. Named in 1884 by George M. Dawson, "waputik" is the Stoney Indian word for white goat.