| Selkirk Mountains | |
| Range | |
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At the Rogers Pass by John A. Fraser, 1886
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| Countries | Canada, United States |
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| Provinces/States | British Columbia, Idaho, Washington |
| Part of | Columbia Mountains |
| Borders on | Monashee Mountains, Purcell Mountains, Cariboo Mountains |
| Highest point | Mount Sir Sandford |
| - elevation | 3,519 m (11,545 ft) |
| - coordinates | |
| Length | 525 km (326 mi), NS |
| Width | 175 km (109 mi), EW |
| Geology | Metamorphic rock |
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Location map of the Selkirk Mountains
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The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia. They begin at Mica Peak near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and extend approximately 320 km north (200 miles) from the border. The range is bounded on its west, northeast and at its northern extremity by the Columbia River. From the Columbia's confluence with the Beaver River, they are bounded on their east by the Purcell Trench, which contains the Beaver River, Duncan River, Duncan Lake, Kootenay Lake and the Kootenay River. The Selkirks are distinct from, and geologically older than, the Rocky Mountains. Together with the neighbouring Monashee and Purcell Mountains, and sometimes including the Cariboo Mountains to the northwest, the Selkirks are part of a larger grouping known as the Columbia Mountains. A scenic highway loop, the International Selkirk Loop, encircles the southern portions of the mountain range.
The Selkirks were named after Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk.
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During the development of Western Canada, the Selkirks presented a formidable barrier to the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, until A.B. Rogers discovered the mountain pass that bears his name in 1881–1882. As a result of the railway's construction via that route, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks (Canada) in the heart of the Selkirks were among the first national parks created in Canada, along with Yoho, and Banff National Parks. Until the completion of the Trans-Canada Highway via the Rogers Pass, automotive traffic between most of British Columbia and the rest of Canada necessarily was forced to follow the path of the Columbia River via its Big Bend, around the north end of the Selkirks.
The southern end of these mountains is home to the only extant woodland caribou population in the contiguous United States.[1] This area, some of it protected in Washington's Salmo-Priest Wilderness, is also home to mule deer and white-tailed deer, elk, black bears, cougars, bobcats, red fox, bald eagles, golden eagles, osprey, great blue heron, porcupine, badgers, coyote, pine martens, bighorn sheep, and moose. Although rarely seen, grizzly bears and gray wolves are also known to roam through this region.[2]
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