Continental Ranges

Continental Ranges
Mt. Robson (right) in the Rainbow Range
Highest point
Peak	Mount Robson
Elevation	3,954 m (12,972 ft) [1]
Coordinates	53°6′38″N119°9′24″W / 53.11056°N 119.15667°W / 53.11056; -119.15667 [2]
Dimensions
Area	65,091 km2 (25,132 sq mi)
Geography
Location map of the Continental Ranges
Country	Canada
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 are a major grouping of mountain ranges in the Rocky Mountains primarily located in the Canadian Rockies of eastern British Columbia and western Alberta, with small portions extending into the U.S. states of Idaho and Montana. It is a physiographic designation primarily geologists and is not used by the general public; it is not recognized in Alberta, and does not appear on topographic maps, ^[3] although the names of its subranges (the Kootenay, Front, and the Park or Main Ranges) are in common use. It is the largest and best-known of the Canadian Rockies' three main subdivisions (the others being the Hart and Muskwa Ranges). ^[4]

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:

• Front Ranges
  • Bare Range
  • Bighorn Range
  • Bosche Range
  • De Smet Range
  • Elk Range
  • Fairholme Range
  • First Range
  • Fisher Range
  • Goat Range
  • Greenhills Range
  • High Rock Range
    • Misty Range
  • Highwood Range
  • Jacques Range
  • Kananaskis Range
  • Lizard Range
  • Maligne Range
  • Miette Range
  • Murchison Group
  • Nikanassin Range
  • Opal Range
  • Palliser Range
  • Queen Elizabeth Ranges
  • Ram Range
  • Sawback Range
  • Slate Range
  • Taylor Range
  • Vermilion Range
  • Victoria Cross Ranges
  • Whitegoat Peaks
  • Wisukitsak Range
• Park Ranges, also known as the Main Ranges.
  • Blackwater Range
  • Blue Range
  • Bow Range
  • Chaba Icefield
  • Clemenceau-Chaba
  • Columbia Icefield
  • Drummond Group
  • Freshfields
  • Harrison Group
  • Hooker Icefield
  • Kitchen Range
  • Le Grand Brazeau
  • McKale-Chalco Divide
  • Mitchell Range
  • Morkill Ranges
  • Ottertail Range
  • Rainbow Range
  • Royal Group (mountain range)
  • Selwyn Range
  • Spray Mountains
  • Sundance Range
  • The Ramparts
  • Trident Range
  • Van Horne Range
  • Vermilion Range
  • Wapta Icefield
  • Waputik Icefield
  • Waputik Mountains
    • President Range
    • Waputik Range
  • Winston Churchill Range
• Kootenay Ranges
  • Beaverfoot Range
  • Brisco Range
  • Hughes Range
  • Stanford Range
  • Van Nostrand Range

References

1. "Mount Robson". Bivouac Mountain Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20 October 2025. "Topographic map of Mount Robson". OpenTopoMap. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
2. "Mount Robson". Canadian Geographical Names Database. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
3. "Continental Ranges". BC Geographical Names .
4. Landforms of British Columbia Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine , S Holland, Govt of BC Bulletin No. 58, 1976