Category Archives: Place Names

Calumet Peak

Alberta. Peak
Headwaters of Calumet Creek
53.2636 N 119.0111 W — Map 083E06 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1956
Official in Canada

Named in association with Calumet Creek.

In a note in the Geographical Journal, Charles Ernest Fay [1846–1923] wrote that during the 1913 Alpine Club of Canada camp at Mount Robson, Calumet was one of five virgin summits to be occupied.

References:

  • Fay, Charles Ernest [1846–1923]. “Recent Mountaineering in the Canadian Alps.” Geographical Review, Vol. 2, No. 1 (1916):1. JSTOR

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