The Interior Mountains or Northern Interior Mountains are the semi-official names for an expansive collection of mountain ranges that comprises much of the northern half of the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nort ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

and a large area of southern

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

. There are four main groupings, the Skeena, Cassiar and Omineca Mountains to the north of the

Interior Plateau The Interior Plateau comprises a large region of the Interior of British Columbia, and lies between the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains on the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range on the west.''Landforms of British Co ...

between the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains (french: La chaîne Côtière) are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Colum ...

to the west and the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

to the east, and the Hazelton Mountains along the Interior Plateau's northwestern flank against the Coast Mountains, extending from the Bulkley Ranges south to the Bella Coola River. Included within the Interior Mountains system is the Stikine Plateau, which contains a number of sub-plateaus and various mountain ranges and is located west of the Cassiars, north of the Skeenas, and to the east of the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains. Most of the thousands of summits in the Interior Mountains are unnamed, and they are mostly uninhabited and undeveloped.

Etymology

The terms ''Interior Mountains'' and ''Northern Interior Mountains'' were coined by British Columbia government geographer Stuart Holland in the course of writing his ''Landforms of British Columbia'', which is a definitive volume on the province's topography and

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name o ...

written in 1964. This work is used as the basis for official toponymies such as those in the provincial gazette and the

British Columbia Geographic Names Information System Database The BC Geographical Names (formerly BC Geographical Names Information System or BCGNIS) is a geographic Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally ...

(BCGNIS), which is the official registry of the province's geographic names. The term Interior Mountains, used by Holland throughout his work and as a chapter heading describing the mountain system in question, is not present in the Geographical Names Database despite being a chapter heading and appearing on Holland's map of the province's landform systems. He suggests, also, the term "Northern Interior Mountains", partly because the mountain system is in a region also known as the

Northern Interior , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Interior" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivi ...

, but also to potentially distinguish this mountain system from mountain ranges farther south in the province's Interior, including those of the

. In his exegesis, he decided on "Interior Mountains" for reasons of brevity.

Component ranges and plateaus

Major mountain ranges and plateaus that are considered part of the Interior Mountains are included.

Cassiar Mountains , photo = Cassiar Highway.jpg , photo_size = 280px , photo_caption = Cassiar Mountains along Stewart-Cassiar Highway near Good Hope Lake , country = Canada , subdivision1_type = Provinces , subdivision1 ...

* Dease Plateau *

Kechika Ranges The Kechika Ranges are a subrange of the Cassiar Mountains subdivision of the Interior Mountains in far northern British Columbia, Canada, lying west of the Rocky Mountain Trench between the Rainbow (S) and Deadwood Rivers (N). See also *Kechika R ...

* Sifton Ranges * Stikine Ranges

Hazelton Mountains

* Bulkley Ranges * Kispiox Range * Nass Ranges * Pattullo Range * Tahtsa Ranges

Omineca Mountains

* Finlay Ranges * Hogem Ranges * Metsantan Range * Samuel Black Range *

Swannell Ranges The Swannell Ranges are a mountain range between the Finlay and Nation Rivers and between the Hogem Ranges and the Finlay Ranges of northern British Columbia, Canada. It has an area of 22932 km2 and is a subrange of the Omineca Mountains w ...

* Tatlatui Range

Skeena Mountains The Skeena Mountains, also known as the Skeenas, are a subrange of the Interior Mountains of northern British Columbia, Canada, essentially flanking the upper basin of the Skeena River. They lie just inland from the southern end of the Boundar ...

Atna Range The Atna Range is a small subrange of the Skeena Mountains of the Interior Mountains, located in northern British Columbia, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic ...

* Babine Range *

Bait Range The Bait Range is a small subrange of the Skeena Mountains of the Interior Mountains, located on the west side of northern Takla Lake in northern British Columbia, Canada. Mountains Mountains within the Bait Range include: * Bait Peak * Mount ...

Driftwood Range The Driftwood Range is a small subrange of the Skeena Mountains of the Interior Mountains, located between the headwaters of Driftwood River (British Columbia), Driftwood River and Nilkitkwa River in northern British Columbia, Canada. Mountains M ...

* Klappan Range *

Oweegee Range The Oweegee Range is a small subrange of the Skeena Mountains of the Interior Mountains, located on the east side of Bell-Irving River in northern British Columbia, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and t ...

Sicintine Range The Sicintine Range is a small subrange of the Skeena Mountains of the Interior Mountains The Interior Mountains or Northern Interior Mountains are the semi-official names for an expansive collection of mountain ranges that comprises much of t ...

Slamgeesh Range The Slamgeesh Range is a small subrange of the Skeena Mountains of the Interior Mountains, located between the Skeena River and Slamgeesh River in northern British Columbia, Canada. The Mosque River The Mosque River is a tributary of the Skee ...

Strata Range The Strata Range is a subrange of the Skeena Mountains located between the Bell-Irving River The Bell-Irving River is a tributary of the Nass River in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It originates in the Sacred Headwaters region, and flow ...

Takla Range The Takla Range is a small subrange of the Skeena Mountains of the Interior Mountains, bounded by Takla Lake and Northwest Arm in northern British Columbia, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three terr ...

Stikine Plateau

* Kawdy Plateau * Nahlin Plateau * Spatsizi Plateau * Tagish Highland (NB sometimes defined as part of the

) *

Tahltan Highland The Tahltan Highland is an upland area of plateau and relatively lower mountain ranges in British Columbia, Canada, lying east of the Boundary Ranges and south of the Inklin River (the east fork of the Taku River). Its eastern boundary is form ...

(NB sometimes defined as part of the

) * Taku Plateau (NB sometimes defined as part of the Yukon Plateau) * Tanzilla Plateau

Parks and protected areas

Boya Lake Provincial Park Boya may refer to: *Boya, Western Australia *Boya, Nepal *Boya people, an ethnic group in Sudan *Boyar caste, Boyar caste of India *Mireia Boya Busquet (born 1979), Spanish scientist and politician *Pierre Boya (born 1984), Cameroonian footballer * ...

* Dall River Old Growth Provincial Park * Denetiah Provincial Park * Dune Za Keyih Provincial Park and Protected Area * Horneline Creek Provincial Park * Hyland River Provincial Park * Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park *

Mount Edziza Provincial Park and Recreation Area Mount Edziza Provincial Park is a provincial park in Cassiar Land District of northern British Columbia, Canada. It was established on 27 July 1972 to protect the Mount Edziza volcanic complex and the surrounding Tahltan Highland. Geography The p ...

* Rainbow Alley Provincial Park *

Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, protecting most of the Spatsizi Plateau, the southeasternmost subplateau of the Stikine Plateau, and the upper reaches of the basin of the Stikine Riv ...

Stikine River Provincial Park The Stikine River Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia. The park covers a total area of approximately 217,000 hectares. The main feature of the Stikine River Provincial Park is a portion of the Stikine River known as " The Gra ...

Todagin South Slope Provincial Park Todagin South Slope Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the west side of Todagin Creek to the east of Kinaskan Lake in the Stikine Country, to the south of the community of Dease Lake Dease Lake is ...

* Tuya Mountains Provincial Park

Proposed protected areas

* Sacred Headwaters

References

*S. Holland, ''Landforms of British Columbia'', Province of British Columbia, 1976 {{Interior Mountains Northern Interior of British Columbia Mountain ranges of British Columbia Mountain ranges of Yukon