Category Archives: Place

Mount Hardisty

Alberta. Mount
Approximately 26 km south-east of Jasper
52.7047 N 117.8244 W — Map 083C12 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1912
Topo map from Canadian Geographical Names
This mountain was named by James Hector [1834–1907] in 1859 after Richard Hardisty (1831-1889).

Hardisty was a Chief Trader with the Hudson’s Bay Company [founded 1670], in charge of Fort Charleton, Saskatchewan, in 1857-1858. He was Chief Factor in charge of the Edmonton district for many years after that. He was called to the Senate of Canada 23 February 1888, and died in Winnipeg the following year.

References:

  • Karamitsanis, Aphrodite [1961–]. Place names of Alberta. Volume 1: Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1991. Internet Archive [accessed 25 February 2025]

Mount Hector

Alberta. Mount
Approximately 65 km north-west of Banff on Icefields Parkway.
51.575 N 116.2594 W — Map 082N09 — GoogleGeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1884
Name officially adopted in 1928
Topo map from Canadian Geographical Names
Captain John Palliser and James Hector

Captain John Palliser and James Hector


Sir James Hector at Revelstoke in 1903

Sir James Hector at Revelstoke in 1903 Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies

James Hector [1834–1907], surgeon and geologist of the Palliser Expedition, explored along the Athabasca River from Fort Edmonton to Athabasca Pass in 1859.

Hector made many important observations regarding the geology and ethnology of the Canadian West and Rocky Mountains. He was appointed geologist to the Provincial Government of Otago, New Zealand in 1861 and Director of the Geological Survey of New Zealand from 1865-1903. He returned to Canada in 1904 to visit some of his previous exploration grounds. This mountain was named in 1884 by George Dawson [1849–1901] of the Geological Survey of Canada.

References:

  • Hector, James [1834–1907]; Palliser, John [1817–1887]; Spry, Irene Mary Biss [1907–1998], editor. The papers of the Palliser Expedition 1857-1860. Toronto: Publications of the Champlain Society XLIV, 1968. Internet Archive [accessed 4 March 2025]
  • Karamitsanis, Aphrodite [1961–]. Place names of Alberta. Volume 1: Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1991. Internet Archive [accessed 25 February 2025]

Moberly Flats

Alberta. Flats: Athabasca River drainage
W side of Athabasca River below Jasper Lake
53.0478 N 118.1133 W — Map 083E01 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1956
Topo map from Canadian Geographical Names
Henry John Moberly, July 1926. “When Fur Was King,” frontispiece

Henry John Moberly, July 1926. “When Fur Was King,” frontispiece

Henry John Moberly [1835–1932], after whom these flats were named in 1859 by James Hector [1834–1907], was born in Penetanguishene, Upper Canada.

Moberly entered the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company [founded 1670] in 1854 as a clerk. He served as Chief Factor of the once-abandoned Jasper House post from 1855 to 1861. Moberly set out for Jasper from Edmonton in the fall of 1858. He was guided by Andre Cardinal and six young Iroquois who handled 40 head of horses. Moberly developed an excellent relationship with the Iroquois who lived in the Smoky River and Kakwa River valleys. He spent much of his time hunting as far afield as the present-day town of Grande Cache.

Moberly married Suzanne Kwarakwante (Cardinal) who was the daughter of Louis Kwarakwante, an Iroquois and freeman from the fur trade. The couple had two sons by the names of Ewan, b. 1860, and John, b. 1861. Although Henry and Suzanne were officially married at Lac Ste. Anne in 1861, Moberly left her for another position, and she evidently returned to Jasper to live. Suzanne raised her sons in the Athabasca Valley. She died in 1905 and was buried on her son Ewan’s farm near the present town of Jasper.

He served the HBC until 1894 when, as a factor, he retired and settled in Saskatchewan. Moberly had intervals when he was a free trader. His biography, entitled When Fur Was King (1929) is an amalgamation of several articles about life in the fur trade that he wrote for The Beaver, a magazine founded in 1920 by the HBC.

Moberly’s Métis offspring John, Ewan, and grandsons Adolphus [1887–] and William (Bill) were four of the seven families that were affected by the creation of the “Jasper Forest Park.” An Order in Council was passed in September 1907 by the Canadian Federal Government to create this national park. This secretly passed legislation had long lasting implications for the seven Métis families because the Canadian Government did not want to have privately-owned land within the national park boundaries.


References:

  • Moberly, Henry John [1835–1931], and Cameron, William Bleasdell, collaborator. When Fur was King. New York: Dutton, 1929. University of British Columbia Library [accessed 25 February 2025]
  • Karamitsanis, Aphrodite [1961–]. Place names of Alberta. Volume 1: Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1991. Internet Archive [accessed 25 February 2025]
  • Anon. Henry John Moberly. 2020. Mountain Métis [accessed 10 March 2025]

De Smet Range

Alberta. Range
NW of Highway 16 andJasper Lake
53.1608 N 118.1525 W — Map 083E01 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1956
Topo map from Canadian Geographical Names
The De Smet Range is a mountain range of the Canadian Rockies located northwest of Highway 16 and Jasper Lake in Jasper National Park, Canada. The range is named after its highest point Roche de Smet, which in turn was named by Iroquois working in the fur trade industry. The Iroquois named the peak after Pierre-Jean De Smet, a Belgian missionary who had worked with the indigenous peoples in the 1840s in Rupert’s Land, the North-Western Territory, the Oregon Country and the United States.

Includes:
Roche De Smett
Mount Cumnock
Mount Bistre
Mount Greenock

References:

Roche De Smet

Alberta. Rock
N of Snaring
53.1342 N 118.1164 W — Map 083E01 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1956
Topo map from Canadian Geographical Names
The Reverend Pierre-Jean De Smet. c. 1860-65, by Mathew Brady

The Reverend Pierre-Jean De Smet. c. 1860-65, by Mathew Brady Wikipedia

Shown on Palliser Map 1863 as Roche Suette.

The De Smet Range is a mountain range of the Canadian Rockies located northwest of Highway 16 and Jasper Lake in Jasper National Park. The range is named after its highest point Roche de Smet, which in turn was named by Iroquois working in the fur trade industry. The Iroquois named the peak after Pierre-Jean De Smet [1801–1873], a Belgian missionary who had worked with the indigenous peoples in the 1840s in Rupert’s Land, the North-Western Territory, the Oregon Country and the United States.

References:

Bush River

British Columbia. River: Columbia River drainage
Flows S into Bush Arm (Columbia Reach), Kinbasket Lake
51.8067 N 117.3664 W — Map 082N14 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1974
Official in BCTopo map from Canadian Geographical Names
Descriptive name, referring to the dense forest to the water’s edge.

Adopted in the 10th Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, 30 June 1911. The channel labelled “North Fork Bush River” on BC map 1EM confirmed as the main channel of Bush River, and the channel labelled “South Branch Bush River” on BC-Alberta Boundary sheet 19, 1918, was named Valenciennes River in the 18th Report, 31 March 1924. Lower reaches of Bush River have since been flooded behind Mica Dam.

References:

Mount Lyell

Alberta-BC boundary. Mount
NE of Bush Arm Kinbasket Lake
51.9567 N 117.1033 W — Map 082N14 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1911
Official in BCTopo map from Canadian Geographical Names
This mount appears on:
Palliser Map 1863
Named in 1858 by James Hector [1834–1907], after Sir Charles Lyell [1797–1875], noted British geologist.

Also Lyell Glacier and Icefield.

In 1972, five distinct peaks on Mt. Lyell (formerly referred to as only Lyell 1 through 5 or L1 through L5), were named after Swiss mountain guides who settled in Golden, British Columbia in 1912. Running south to north along the interprovincial boundary, these peaks are: Christian Peak (L5), Walter Peak (L4), and Ernest Peak (L3), named after Christian Hässler, Walter Feuz and Ernest Feuz. Located entirely in Alberta are Edward Peak (L2) and Rudolph Peak (L1), named after Edward Feuz Jr. and Rudolph Aemmer.

References:

  • Hector, James [1834–1907]; Palliser, John [1817–1887]; Spry, Irene Mary Biss [1907–1998], editor. The papers of the Palliser Expedition 1857-1860. Toronto: Publications of the Champlain Society XLIV, 1968. Internet Archive [accessed 4 March 2025]
  • Wikipedia. Lyell, Mount