Mount Saskatchewan (Alberta)

Mount Saskatchewan is a mountain located in the North Saskatchewan River valley of Banff National Park, in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada.

Mount Saskatchewan
Mt. Saskatchewan
Highest point
Elevation3,342 m (10,965 ft)[1][2]
Prominence1,102 m (3,615 ft)[3]
Parent peakMount Andromeda (3450 m)[3]
ListingMountains of Alberta
Coordinates52°05′59″N 117°05′36″W / 52.09972°N 117.09333°W / 52.09972; -117.09333[4]
Geography
Mount Saskatchewan is located in Alberta
Mount Saskatchewan
Mount Saskatchewan
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
Protected areaBanff National Park
Parent rangeColumbia Icefield
Topo mapNTS 83C3 Columbia Icefield[4]
Climbing
First ascentJuly 12, 1923, by Conrad Kain, W.S. Ladd, J. Monroe Thorington[5][6]
Easiest routetechnical climb

J. Norman Collie named the mountain in 1898 for the nearby Saskatchewan River.[3] One report said Collie so named it due to its possession of the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River.[7]

Lighthouse Tower

edit
 

A 75 m (246 ft) pinnacle unofficially named Lighthouse Tower and also sometimes referred to as "Cleopatra's Needle" (elevation 2,960 m (9,710 ft)),[2] is located two kilometres from the summit on the eastern ridge of Mt. Saskatchewan.[1]

It was first climbed in 1964 by G. Boehnisch and L. Mackay.[8]

Geology

edit

Like other mountains in Banff Park, Mount Saskatchewan is composed of sedimentary rock laid down from the Precambrian to Jurassic periods.[9] Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.[10] The north aspect of the peak supports an unnamed glacier which can be seen well from Parker Ridge.

Climate

edit

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Saskatchewan is located in a subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[11] Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. Weather conditions during summer months are optimum for climbing.

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Mount Saskatchewan". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  2. ^ a b "Topographic map of Mount Saskatchewan". opentopomap.org. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  3. ^ a b c "Mount Saskatchewan". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  4. ^ a b "Mount Saskatchewan". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  5. ^ Thorington, J. Monroe (2012). "Chapter VI: Mount Saskatchewan and Mount Columbia". The Glittering Mountains of Canada. Calgary: Rocky Mountain Books. Kindle Edition. ISBN 978-1927330067.
  6. ^ Thorington, J. Monroe (1966) [1921]. "Thompson Pass to Head of Athabaska River". A Climber's Guide to the Rocky Mountains of Canada. With the collaboration of Putnam, William Lowell (6th ed.). American Alpine Club. pp. 230–231. ISBN 978-1376169003.
  7. ^ Geographic Board of Canada. Place Names of Alberta (1928)
  8. ^ "Lighthouse Tower". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Gadd, Ben (2008). Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias.
  11. ^ 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.
edit