Landforms of British Columbia 1976 - Department of Geography

[References: Price, R. A., “ Fernie Map-area (East Half),” Geol, Surv.,
Canada, Paper 61-24; Leech, G, B,, “ Fernie (West Half) ,” G&. Surv., Conada,
Map 1 l-1960; Hume, G. S., “W&rum Lakes-FIathead Valley Area,” Geol. Surv.,
Canada, Sum. Rept., 1932, Pt. B, pp. l-20; Stalker, A. M,, “Surficial Geology,
Fernie (East Half),” Geol. Swv., Canada, Map 31-1961; Ross, C. P., “Glacier
National Park and Flathead Region,” U.S.G.S., Prof. Paper 296, 1959; Alden,
W. C., “ Physiography and Glacial Geology of Western Montana,” U.S.G.S., Prof.
Paper 231, 1953.1
Continental Ranges
The Continental Ranges extend southeastward from Jarvis Creek and the
head of Kakwa River at approximately 54 degrees latitude to their southern term-
ination along a line from Elko running along Elk River, Lodgepole and McLatchie
Creeks to Flathead River, and thence through North Kootenay Pass to Carbondale
River. They are about 400 miles long and 60 miles wide.
The Continental Ranges arc the best known of the Rocky Mountains. They
are crossed by railways and highways through the Yellowhead, Kicking Horse, and
Crowsnest Passes, and over the years have been visited by mountaineers, surveyors,
geologists, and tourists, so that the n~ore accessible parts of them have become
very well known. Southward from Mount Sir Alexander (10,740 feet) and
Mount Ida (10,472 feet) at the head of the McGregor River they include nxmy
lO,OOO- and 11,000.foot peaks as well as Mount Robson (12,972 feet), the
highest summit in the Canadian Rockies.
In the south, between Yellowhead Pass and North Kootenay Pass, there are
nwnerous geological descriptions of various parts of the Continental Ranges of the
Rocky Mountains, Geologists have made a longitudinal division of the mountains
into three structural units* whose lithologic and topographic differences are sufficient
to justify their.use as physiographic subdivisions, These are the Front Ranges,
which lie on the east and are flanked immediately on their east by the Rocky Moon-
tain Foothills, the Park (Main) Ranges, and on the west the Kootenay (Western)
Ranges, which lie between the Kootenay-White River lineament and the Rocky
Mountain Trench,
The Front Ranga (xe Plate XXXIIIB) of the Rocky Mountains consist of a
number of longitudinal ranges whose topographic continuity is very largely influ-
enced by the presence of certain rock formations whose positions in turn are largely
controlled by underlying fold and fadt structures. In the south the Front Ranges
are defined geologically as lying west of the McConnell and Livingstone faults and
east of the Castle Mountain fault.
Between Intersection Mountain and the vicinity of Mount Assiniboine and
Kananaskis Lake the ranges lie entirely within Alberta. Farther south their trend
V~IXS southward, and the westernmost of the Front Ranges are in British Columbia,
In the vicinity of Crowsnest Pass the Front Ranges in British Columbia are the
High Rock Range along the British Columbia-Alberta Boundary (xx Plate
XXXIIIB), Erickson Ridge and the Flathead Range on the east side of Fcrnie
Basin, the range on the west side of Fernie Basin that includes Mount Hosmer,t
and the Lizard Range. In fact, the Front Ranges, that farther north are a marginal
feature, do not condnue south of Crowsnest Pass, but instead follow the structural
trend of the Fernie Coal Basin diagonally across the full width of the Rocky
Mountains to Elko.
* North, F. K.. zmd Hellde~so”,
0. 0. L., ,ma, sm. Pd. Gd., O”id&cmk NO. 4, ,954, p, 16.
+ Idun P. 23
86