Saint Nicholas Peak (Canada)

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.

Saint Nicholas Peak
Mount Olive (left) with Saint Nicholas Peak (right) seen from Bow Lake
Highest point
Elevation2,938 m (9,639 ft)[1][2]
Prominence38 m (125 ft)[1]
Parent peakMount Olive (3,126 m)
Listing
Coordinates51°37′40″N 116°30′09″W / 51.62778°N 116.50250°W / 51.62778; -116.50250[3]
Geography
Saint Nicholas Peak is located in Alberta
Saint Nicholas Peak
Saint Nicholas Peak
Location in western Alberta
Saint Nicholas Peak is located in British Columbia
Saint Nicholas Peak
Saint Nicholas Peak
Saint Nicholas Peak (British Columbia)
Saint Nicholas Peak is located in Canada
Saint Nicholas Peak
Saint Nicholas Peak
Saint Nicholas Peak (Canada)
CountryCanada
ProvincesAlberta and British Columbia
National ParksBanff and Yoho
Parent rangeWaputik Mountains
Canadian Rockies
Topo mapNTS 82N10 Blaeberry River[3]
Climbing
First ascent1930 by J. Monroe Thorington, Peter Kaufmann[4][5]

Name

edit

It was named in 1916 by Arthur O. Wheeler; a particular gendarme on the mountain is said to resemble Santa Claus.[4][1]

Geology

edit

The peak is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods.[6] Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.[7]

Climate

edit

Based on the Köppen climate classification, it is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[8] Temperatures can drop below -20 C with wind chill factors below -30 C.

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Saint Nicholas Peak". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  2. ^ British Columbia Official Map Site (click on "Provincial Basemap")
  3. ^ a b "St. Nicholas Peak". BC Geographical Names. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
  4. ^ a b "St. Nicholas Peak". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  5. ^ Thorington, J. Monroe (1966) [1921]. "Kicking Horse Pass to Howse Pass". A Climber's Guide to the Rocky Mountains of Canada. With the collaboration of Putnam, William Lowell (6th ed.). American Alpine Club. p. 150. ISBN 978-1376169003.
  6. ^ Belyea, Helen R. (1960). The Story of the Mountains in Banff National Park (PDF). parkscanadahistory.com (Report). Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  7. ^ Gadd, Ben (2008). Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias.
  8. ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606.

Further reading

edit
edit