Hart Ranges

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Location of the Hart Ranges
Location of the Hart Ranges

The Hart Ranges are one of the main geographic subdivisions of the Canadian Rockies and are the main part of the area that is meant by the Northern Rockies, although the much larger Muskwa Ranges to the north are more deserving of that term — but also much more inaccessible and much less visited — and the Northern Rockies are generally also considered to extend at least as far south as Mount Robson, which is in the Continental Ranges . The Hart Ranges were named in honour of British Columbia Premier John Hart, as is the highway which traverses the Pine Pass in the northern part of the range, connecting the north-central Interior of the province to its Peace River District to the northeast.

The boundaries of the Hart Ranges are the Rocky Mountain Trench and the McGregor Plateau on the west/southwest, the Peace Reach of Williston Lake on the north, and a certain line of demarcation with the Rocky Mountain Foothills to the east/northeast. The southern boundary is reckoned to be at McGregor Pass, just south of Mount Sir Alexander. Beyond McGregor Pass are the Continental Ranges, which comprise the main and best-known part of the Rocky Mountains and run all the way south to Marias Pass in Montana.

[edit] Sub-ranges

Official subdivisions of the Hart Ranges include the:

  • Misinchinka Ranges (from the Pine Pass south to Monkman Pass)
    • Murray Range
    • Pioneer Range
  • Solitude Range

Other areas of the Hart Ranges have no subdesignations though the area around Mount Sir Alexander has been dubbed the Mount Sir Alexander Group by The Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia; however, this is not an official designation.

[edit] Industry

The Hart Ranges are the location of a number of large coal mines focussed on the remote community of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, which is the only town in the range.