Gallery
Mountains of Canada

Northern Coast Mountains

While the Rocky Mountains may be the best known of Canada's western mountains, they are not alone. The Columbia Mountains lie just west of the Rockies. The area between the two mountain ranges is known as the Rocky Mountain Trench. This great plateau, in places up to 20 kilometres wide, forms an essential habitat for rare and endangered wildlife: grizzly bears, wolverines, cougars and wolves, as well as crucial grazing range for elk, moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goats. This mountain corridor is a vital connecting link for dispersal movement of the remaining populations of alpine flora and wildlife. The protection of this unique mountain ecosystem was the main driving force behind the creation of the Yellowstone-to-Yukon Conservation Initiative (external link).

The proximity ofthe Northern Coast Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, the rugged topography and the fact that these mountains extend for long distances from north to south, all contribute to the great variety of climate, vegetation and wildlife. A mixture of plant species from the coast, the western mountains, the boreal forest, and the Arctic, provide ample resources to some of the North America's most spectacular and abundant wildlife. Northern Coast Mountains, and the Boundary Range extending north-south along the Alaska panhandle, are the youngest in terms of geological history; earthquake tremors can frequently be felt in the whole region.

Further north are the St. Elias Mountains, an impressive complex of high peaks and glaciers on both sides of the border between Canada (Yukon Territory and British Columbia) and the United States (Alaska). Saint Elias Mountains contain Canada's highest peaks and the world's largest non-polar icefields. Extensive alpine glaciation, constant water and wind erosion, and tectonic activity contribute to the area's young landscape.

A narrow Duke Depression separates two major ranges within the St. Elias Mountains: the Kluane Ranges, a chain of mountains averaging 2,500 metres (8,000 ft.) in height and visible from the Haines Road or the Alaska Highway, and the isolated Icefield Ranges to the west, whose peaks often soar above the 5,000 metre (16,000 ft.) mark. Only 96 kilometres from the coast and rising 5,959 metres (19,545 ft.) above the sea level, Mount Logan is the highest mountain in Canada. It is the second highest peak in North America after Mount McKinley (6,194 metres). The next sixteen tallest mountains in Canada (Mount St. Elias, Mount Steele, Mount Lucania, and others) are all in the St. Elias Mountains. Together with the Boundary Range further south, the Icefield Range contains a network of over 2,000 glaciers, the world's largest non-polar icefield. A great number of valley glaciers, including the Donjek, Lowell and Kaskawulsh, radiate from the icefield cap.

St. Elias Mountains gained protection in 1972, with the creation of a 22,015 square kilometre Kluane National Park and Reserve. Mixing of the Pacific and the Arctic air masses over Kluane has resulted in one of the greatest diversity of plants and animals in northern Canada. The spectacular natural landscapes provide prime habitat for many species of wildlife, particularly Dall sheep (the Park's most numerous large mammal numbering 4,000), grizzly, and black bears, woodland caribou, moose, wolverine, lynx, and the wolf.

Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, and covering over 97,000 square kilometres of untouched and unbroken ecosystems; neighbouring Kluane National Park and Reserve, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (U.S.), Glacier Bay National Park (US), and Tatshenshini-Alsek Preserve comprise the largest contiguous stretch of protected wilderness in the world.

Return to the -> Gallery section index

 
Search tips