Premier Range

Premier Range
Premier Group
Highest point
Peak Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Elevation 3,516 m (11,535 ft)
Coordinates 52°48′05″N 119°43′54″W / 52.80139°N 119.73167°W
Geography
Country Canada
Province British Columbia
Range coordinates 52°50′N 119°45′W / 52.83°N 119.75°WCoordinates: 52°50′N 119°45′W / 52.83°N 119.75°W
Parent range Cariboo Mountains

The Premier Range is a group of mountains within the Cariboo Mountains of east-central British Columbia, Canada. The range (also known as the Premier Group) is bounded by the Raush River and Kiwa Creek to the north, the North Thompson River on the south and west and the Fraser River and its tributaries to the east.

In 1927, the year of Canada's Diamond Jubilee, it was decided that the names of the higher peaks in this range would be reserved to pay tribute to prime ministers of Canada, prime ministers of the United Kingdom, and premiers of the province of British Columbia. In practice, however, only one British prime minister and one British Columbia premier have been so honoured, and recent changes to Canadian geographic naming regulations make it unlikely that any British prime minister or other non-Canadian will receive such an honour in the future.

The named summits of the Premier Range are, in order of elevation:

Mountain Height (m) Height (ft) Naming Coordinates
Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier 351611535Sir Wilfrid Laurier - 7th Prime Minister 52°48′10″N 119°43′9″W / 52.80278°N 119.71917°W
Mount Sir John Abbott 339811148Sir John Abbott - 3rd Prime Minister 52°48.6′N 119°47.7′W / 52.8100°N 119.7950°W
Mount Sir John Thompson 334910988Sir John Thompson - 4th Prime Minister 52°44′N 119°44′W / 52.733°N 119.733°W
Mount Sir Mackenzie Bowell 330110830Sir Mackenzie Bowell - 5th Prime Minister 52°49′54″N 119°43′48″W / 52.83167°N 119.73000°W
Mount Stanley Baldwin 325610682Stanley Baldwin - British Prime Minister 52°49′28″N 119°36′21″W / 52.82444°N 119.60583°W
Mount Mackenzie King 323410610Mackenzie King - 10th Prime Minister 52°46′32.9″N 119°45′02.9″W / 52.775806°N 119.750806°W
Mount Arthur Meighen 320510515Arthur Meighen - 9th Prime Minister 52°48′11.9″N 119°33′11.9″W / 52.803306°N 119.553306°W
Mount Richard Bennett 319010466Richard Bennett - 11th Prime Minister 52°49′48″N 119°47′36″W / 52.83000°N 119.79333°W
Mount John Oliver 312310246John Oliver - B.C. Premier 52°53′00″N 119°41′06″W / 52.88333°N 119.68500°W
Mount Lester Pearson 308610125Lester B. Pearson - 14th Prime Minister 52°46′48″N 119°32′42″W / 52.78000°N 119.54500°W
Mount Louis Saint Laurent 3045 9990Louis St. Laurent - 12th Prime Minister 52°45′34″N 119°47′07″W / 52.75944°N 119.78528°W
Mount Pierre Elliott Trudeau26408661Pierre Trudeau - 15th Prime Minister 52°48′10″N 119°25′31″W / 52.80278°N 119.42528°W
Mount Sir Allan MacNab 22977535Sir Allan MacNab - Canadian industrialist and Premier of the colonial-era Province of Canada 52°31′12″N 119°12′11″W / 52.52000°N 119.20306°W

Before the Premier Range was selected, many mountains outside this area were named after Canadian prime ministers. Mount Mackenzie, Mount Tupper, Mount Macdonald and Mount Laurier rise over the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks that travel through the Rogers Pass near Golden, British Columbia. Mount Robert in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia honours Sir Robert Borden. There is also a Mount John Diefenbaker in British Columbia named after John Diefenbaker. Other than Laurier (who was also honoured with the name of a mountain in Yukon), none of these prime ministers have received the honour of also having a mountain named for them in the Premier Range.

External references