Author Archives: Swany

Charles Doolittle Walcott

Charles Doolittle Walcott [1850–1927]

b. 1850
d. 1927

Charles Doolittle Walcott (March 31, 1850 – February 9, 1927) was an American paleontologist, administrator of the Smithsonian Institution from 1907 to 1927, and director of the United States Geological Survey.[1][2] He is famous for his discovery in 1909 of well-preserved fossils, including some of the oldest soft-part imprints, in the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada.

Sources of biographical information about Walcott:

Events in the Mount Robson region in which Walcott was involved:

  • 1912 Walcott Smithsonian
  • 1913 ACC Camp – Mount Robson
Works pertinent to the Mount Robson region of which Walcott was author or co-author:

  • Walcott Jr., Charles D., and —   “A geologist’s paradise.” National Geographic Magazine, 22, no. 6 (1911):WM 03.2 W14ge
  • —   “The monarch of the Canadian Rockies.” National Geographic Magazine, (1913):626. Internet Archive

Victoria Cross Ranges

Alberta. Ranges
NW of Jasper
53 N 118.3 W — Map 083E02 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1952
Topo map from Canadian Geographical Names

The Victoria Cross Ranges (52°55′N 118°18′W to 53°05′N 118°30′W) are a set of mountain ranges located to the northwest of Jasper. Of the 19 peaks contained within this range, five are named after Canadian recipients of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious decoration of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour in the presence of the enemy to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously.

The tribute to these soldiers in 1951 was made possible by the co-operation of the federal and provincial governments. However, at the time, the proposal created controversy. The issue’s resolution would bring about the creation of the Victoria Cross Ranges and an agreement between the Governments of Alberta and Canada still governs geographical naming.

Snaring Mountain
Mount Bridgland [Morrison Bridgland (not VC recipient)]
Mount Mahood
Consort Mountain
Mount Oliver
Mount Beaupré
Monarch Mountain
Pyramid Mountain
Mount McKean [George Burdon McKean, VC]
Buttress Mountain
Mount Griesbach [William Antrobus Griesbach (not VC recipient)]
Mount Kinross [Cecil John Kinross, VC]
Mount Zengel [Raphael Louis Zengel, VC]
Mount Henry [Henry A.F. MacLeod, CPR engineer]
Cairngorm
Mount Kerr [John Chipman Kerr, VC]
Emigrants Mountain
Elysium Mountain
Mount Pattison [John George Pattison, VC]

References:

Mount Mahood

Alberta. Mount
Headwaters of Miette River
53.0289 N 118.5931 W — Map 083E02 — GoogleGeoHackBivouac
Name officially adopted in 1956
Official in Canada

Located in the Victoria Cross Ranges, Mount Mahood is above Miette Lake at the headwaters of the Miette River. The peak is named after Canadian Pacific Railway engineer, land surveyor, and explorer James Adams Mahood [1840–1901], born in New Brunswick, who was a member of the 1872 party of Sandford Fleming [1827–1915] that did the initial surveys for the CPR. Mount Mahood and Mahood Lake are also named after him.

References:

  • Karamitsanis, Aphrodite [1961–]. Place names of Alberta. Volume 1: Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1991. Internet Archive
  • British Columbia Geographical Names. Mahood, Mount

Mount Beaupré

Alberta. Mount
Headwaters of Miette River near Mount McCord
53.0464 N 118.6117 W — Map 083E02 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1956
Official in Canada

Mount Beaupré is named after a member of the Sandford Fleming [1827–1915] party of 1872. Likely named by the Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Commission:

Then, along the western escarpment, beyond the valley of Miette River is “Swank” station, now Mt. Beaupré, also occupied by the Boundary Survey.

References:

  • Grant, George Monro [1835–1902]. Ocean to Ocean: Sandford Fleming’s Expedition through Canada in 1872. Being a Diary Kept During a Journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific with the Expedition of the Engineer-in-Chief of the Canadian Pacific and Intercolonial Railways. Toronto: James Campbell and Son, 1873. Google Books
  • Cautley, Richard William [1873–1953], and Wheeler, Arthur Oliver [1860–1945]. Report of the Commission Appointed to Delimit the Boundary between the Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Parts IIIA & IIIB, 1918 to 1924. From Yellowhead Pass Northerly. Ottawa: Office of the Surveyor General, 1925. Whyte Museum

Curia Mountain

Alberta. Mountain
S of Basilica Mountain
52.7958 N 118.3383 W — Map 083D16 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1951
Official in Canada
This mountain appears on:
Boundary Commission Sheet 29 (surveyed in 1917) [as “Mt. Curia”]

Named in 1916 from its resemblance to a senate house or curia.

References:

  • Canadian Board on Geographical Names. Place-names of Alberta. Published for the Geographic Board by the Department of the Interior. Ottawa: Department of the Interior, 1928. Hathi Trust

Basilica Mountain

Alberta. Mountain
Between Meadow Creek and Clairvaux Creek, S of Yellowhead Pass
52.8056 N 118.3422 W — Map 083D16 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1951
Official in Canada
This mountain appears on:
Boundary Commission Sheet 29 (surveyed in 1917) [as “Mt. Basicila”]

A basilica is an oblong building ending in a semicircular apse used in ancient Rome especially for a court of justice and place of public assembly. Probably named by the surveyors of the Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Commission.

Rink Brook

Alberta. Brook
Flows E into Miette River N of Yellowhead Pass
52.925 N 118.5319 W — Map 083D15 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1956
Topo map from Canadian Geographical Names
Also see: