Mount Selkirk

Mount Selkirk
Mount Selkirk (upper right)
From Kootenay Valley Overlook along Highway 93
Highest point
Elevation2,930 m (9,610 ft)[1]
Prominence320 m (1,050 ft)[1]
Parent peakCatlin Peak (2941 m)[1]
ListingMountains of British Columbia
Coordinates50°51′59″N 115°54′30″W / 50.86639°N 115.90833°W / 50.86639; -115.90833[2]
Geography
Mount Selkirk is located in British Columbia
Mount Selkirk
Mount Selkirk
Location in British Columbia
Mount Selkirk is located in Canada
Mount Selkirk
Mount Selkirk
Location in Canada
Map
Interactive map of Mount Selkirk
LocationKootenay National Park
British Columbia, Canada
DistrictKootenay Land District
Parent rangeMitchell Range
Canadian Rockies
Topo mapNTS 82J13 Mount Assiniboine
Geology
Rock ageCambrian[3]
Rock typeLimestone[3]

Mount Selkirk is a 2,930-metre (9,610-foot) mountain summit located in the Vermilion River Valley along the eastern border of Kootenay National Park. Park visitors can see the peak from Highway 93, also known as the Banff–Windermere Highway. It is part of the Mitchell Range, which is a sub-range of the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. The nearest higher neighbor is Catlin Peak, 1.6 km (0.99 mi) to the northwest.

History

The mountain was named in 1886 by George Mercer Dawson in honor of Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk (1771-1820), a Scottish philanthropist who sponsored immigrant settlements at the Red River Colony in what is now Manitoba.[4] The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1924 by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.[2]

Geology

Mount Selkirk is composed principally of Ottertail limestone, sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Cambrian periods and pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.[5]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Selkirk is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[6] Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the Vermilion River.

  • Catlin Peak and Mount Selkirk (right)
    Catlin Peak and Mount Selkirk (right)
  • Mount Selkirk (left) and Catlin Peak (center) from northeast at Sunshine Meadows
    Mount Selkirk (left) and Catlin Peak (center) from northeast at Sunshine Meadows

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Mount Selkirk". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  2. ^ a b "Mount Selkirk". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  3. ^ a b Parks Canada
  4. ^ "Mount Selkirk". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  5. ^ Gadd, Ben (2008), Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias
  6. ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. ISSN 1027-5606.