Mount John Laurie

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Mount John Laurie
Îyâmnathka, Mount Yamnuska
Mount-Yamnuska2-Szmurlo.jpg
Yamnuska
Highest point
Elevation 2,240 m (7,350 ft) [1]
Listing Mountains of Alberta
Coordinates 51°07′27″N115°07′06″W / 51.12417°N 115.11833°W / 51.12417; -115.11833 [2]
Geography
Canada Alberta relief location map - transverse mercator proj.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Mount John Laurie
Location in Alberta
Country Canada
Province Alberta
District Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8
Parent range Canadian Rockies
Topo map NTS 82O3 Canmore
Geology
Rock age Paleozoic
Mountain type(s) Limestone and shale
Climbing
First ascent Unknown
Easiest route Scramble [1]

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

Contents

Various names

Officially named Mount John Laurie in 1961, [3] it is also known as Mount Laurie, or by its original Stoney Nakoda name Îyâmnathka, borrowed into English as Mount Yamnuska or simply Yamnuska. [3] Îyâmnathka is a compound that includes root words meaning "mountain" and "flat", [4] however it is usually translated more figuratively as "flat-faced mountain". [5]

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. [6]

Peak and climbing

Standing at approximately 2,240 m (7,350 ft) above sea level, [7] 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"[ further explanation needed ]. 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 [8] [9] The fault, which sits at the base of the cliff face, represents an age difference of around 450 million years. [8]

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. [10]

References

  1. 1 2
  2. "Mount Laurie (Îyâmnathka)". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  3. 1 2 "Yamnuska". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
  4. Boles, Glen W.; Laurilla, Roger W.; Putnam, William L. (2006). Canadian Mountain Place Names . Vancouver: Rocky Mountain Books. pp.  275. ISBN   978-1-894765-79-4.
  5. "Stoney Nakoda Dictionary Online". Stoney Education Authority. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  6. "John Lee Laurie". Society of Alberta archives. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
  7. "Traverse of Mount Yamnuska - Scramble". Outdoor Escapade. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
  8. 1 2 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.
  9. Ann Vann, Jodie (August 1, 2018). Spiritual Economy: Resources, Labor, and Exchange in Glastonbury and Sedona (pdf). ASU Digital Repository (PhD thesis). p. 200. OCLC   1065539307. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021. archive.is