Columbia Mountains

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Location map of Columbia Mountains: dotted lines to left mark boundaries of Okanagan, Shuswap and Quesnel Highlands, dotted lines to lower right mark Salish and Cabinet Mountains.

Columbia Mountains (50° 45' N; 118° 41' W) is a group of mountain ranges located in British Columbia, and partially in Montana, Idaho, Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km² (52,491 sq mi). The range is bounded by the Rocky Mountain Trench on the east, and the Kootenai River on the south; their western boundary is the edge of the Interior Plateau. Seventy-five percent of the range is located in Canada and the remaining twenty-five percent in the United States. Mount Sir Sanford is the tallest mountain in the range reaching 3519 m (11,545 ft).

[edit] Mountain Ranges

The Columbia Mountains are made up of four large ranges:

• Cariboo Mountains
• Monashee Mountains
• Selkirk Mountains
• Purcell Mountains (Percell Mountains in the United States)

Additionally lower areas to the west of the main ranges are sometimes included in the description of the Cariboo Mountains:

• Quesnel Highland
  • Goose Range
  • Palmer Range
• Shuswap Highland
• Okanagan Highland
  • Sawtooth Range

Some classification system end the Columbia Mountains at the North Thompson River, such that the Cariboo Mountains are assigned to the Interior Plateau. Where the Columbia Mountains meet the Interior Plateau there are intermediary areas known as highlands - the Quesnel Highland (west flank of the Cariboos), the Shuswap Highland (south of the Cariboos and west of the northern Monashees, and the Okanagan Highland (west of the southern Monashees. These are listed here but are often considered to be part of the Interior Plateau.

Some geographic classifications also include the Cabinet Mountains and Salish Mountains, which lie south of the Purcells between the Kootenai River and the Clark Fork of the Columbia, but in US classification systems they are generally considered to be part of the Rocky Mountains.

[edit] Mountains

The following mountains are the 10 tallest mountains (in order) contained within the Columbian Mountains[1]:

• Mount Sir Sandford (3519 m) (Selkirks)
• Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier (3516 m) (Cariboos)
• Mount Farnham (3493 m) (Purcells)
• Mount Jumbo (3437 m) (Purcells)
• Howser Spire (3412 m) (Purcells)
• Mount Delphine (3406 m) (Purcells)
• Mount Sir John Abbott (3398 m) (Cariboos)
• Mount Hammond (3387 m) (Purcells)
• Mount Dawson (3377 m) (Selkirks)
• Eyebrow Peak (3362 m) (Purcells)

[edit] Passes

The following passes are located within or on the perimeter of the Columbia Mountains:

• Cedarside Pass (Fraser and Columbia Rivers 800m)
• Canal Flats (Columbia and Kootenay Rivers)
• Rogers Pass (between Revelstoke and Golden)
• Kootenay Pass (between Trail and Creston)
• Eagle Pass (between Revelstoke and Sicamous)
• Monashee Pass (BC Hwy 6)
• Bonanza Pass (Nakusp to New Denver)
• Blueberry Pass (Christina Lake to Castlegar/Rossland)

[edit] Sources

• [2] Peakbagger.com
• [3] Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia

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Coordinates: 51°45′N, 118°30′W