Continental Ranges

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Continental Ranges
Canadian Rockies ContinentalRanges.png
Location map of the Continental Ranges
Dimensions
Area65,091 km2 (25,132 sq mi)
Geography
CountryCanada
Provinces British Columbia and Alberta
Range coordinates 52°00′N117°30′W / 52.000°N 117.500°W / 52.000; -117.500
Parent range Canadian Rockies

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]

Sub-ranges

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:

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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.

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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.

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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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Olive (Canadian Rockies)</span> Mountain in Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waputik Mountains</span> Subrange of the Park Ranges in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada

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.

References

  1. "Continental Ranges". BC Geographical Names .
  2. Landforms of British Columbia Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine , S Holland, Govt of BC Bulletin No. 58, 1976