Northern Rocky Mountains

The Northern Rocky Mountains, usually referred to as the Northern Rockies, are a subdivision of the Canadian Rockies comprising the northern half of the Canadian segment of the Rocky Mountains. While their northward limit is easily defined as the Liard River, which is the northward terminus of the whole Rockies, the southward limit is debatable, although the area of Mount Ovington and Monkman Pass is mentioned in some sources, as south from there are the Continental Ranges, which are the main spine of the Rockies forming the boundary between British Columbia and Alberta.^[1] Some use the term to mean only the area north of Lake Williston (the Peace River), and in reference to Northern Rocky Mountains Provincial Park, while others consider the term to extend all the way south, beyond the limit of the Hart Ranges at Mount Ovington, to McBride and Mount Robson.^[2]

The area south of Lake Williston - the Hart Ranges - is much more accessible and better-known, while north of Lake Wililston the Northern Rockies are extremely remote and rarely visited or photographed. The Hart Ranges are traversed by BC Highway 97 (the John Hart Highway) and the Peace River extension of the former BC Rail line (now part of Canadian National Railways), which use the Pine Pass, and also by the Tumbler Ridge spur line to the Sukunka River coalmines. The Alaska Highway traverses the northernmost part of the range via Stone Mountain and Muncho Lake Provincial Parks.

Subranges

• Muskwa Ranges (north of Lake Williston)
• Hart Ranges (south of Lake Williston)
  • Misinchinka Ranges (from the Pine Pass south to Monkman Pass)
    • Murray Range
    • Pioneer Range
  • Solitude Range

Provincial parks

In addition to Northern Rocky Mountains Provincial Park, other parks in the Northern Rockies are:

• North of Lake Williston:
  • Muncho Lake Provincial Park
  • Stone Mountain Provincial Park
  • Kwadacha Wilderness Provincial Park)
• South of Lake Williston
  • Monkman Provincial Park
  • Kakwa Provincial Park and Protected Area
  • Close To The Edge Provincial Park and Protected Area
  • Wapiti Lake Provincial Park
  • Bijoux Falls Provincial Park
  • Mount Robson Provincial Park

References

1. ^ Landforms of British Columbia, S. Holland, BC Govt, Bulletin 50, reprinted 1976.
2. ^ Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia entry