NW ofMoose Lake
53.05 N 119.05 W — Map 083E03 — Google — GeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1900 (McEvoy)
Name officially adopted in 1951
Official in BC – Topo map from Canadian Geographical Names
McEvoy’s map Yellowhead Pass 1900
Schäffer map of visits in 1907 and 1908 [as Rainbow Mountains]
Wheeler’s map Mount Robson 1912
Jobe’s map Jarvis Pass to Yellowhead 1915
Surveyor James McEvoy [1862–1935] of the Geological Survey of Canada traversed the Yellowhead Pass from the east in 1898, exploring as far as Cranberry Lake before returning to Edmonton.
On the return journey, some further work was done on the north side of the Fraser valley above Moose Lake, to ascertain the position of a band of rusty quartzite which weathers out to a brilliant red colour. Viewed from a distance, these mountains have a gorgeous appearance of red and yellow, and suggest the name of Rainbow Mountains. (1)
During the 1911 Alpine Club of Canada–Smithsonian Robson Expedition, Arthur Oliver Wheeler [1860–1945] wrote:
The Moose River flows from the heart of this range, of which Mount Robson is the king pin. The mountains are formed of rocks showing brilliant colours of crimson, red, and yellow, and these, mingled with the blues and greens of Nature’s everyday garb, present from distant points a highly prismatic effect that has given rise to the name. (2)
- 1. Annual Report. Volume XI. 1898. Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada, 1901, p. 82. Natural Resources Canada
- 2. Wheeler, Arthur Oliver Oliver [1860–1945]. “The Mountains of the Yellowhead Pass.” Alpine Journal, Vol. 26, No.198 (1912):382