Mount Shanks is a mountain

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

located in British Columbia, Canada.

Description

Mount Shanks is situated west of the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

on the boundary that Kootenay National Park shares with Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. The peak is part of the Ball Range which is a sub-range of the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...

. Precipitation runoff from the peak's north and east slopes flows into tributaries of the

Simpson River Simpson River is a List of rivers in Chile, river of Chile located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region. The river originates east of the Andes mountains. It forms the western boundary of the city of Coihaique, which is borde ...

, whereas the west slope drains into the Vermilion River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 1,600 metres (5,249 ft) above the Vermilion River in and 1,340 metres (4,396 ft) above the Simpson River in .

History

This landform's original local name was "Folding Mountain" until the mountain was renamed in 1927 by Dominion Land Survey staff in honor of their colleague, the late Thomas Shanks, Assistant Director General of Surveys of Canada. The mountain's toponym was officially adopted on July 31, 1927, by the

Geographical Names Board of Canada The Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) is a national committee with a secretariat in Natural Resources Canada, part of the Government of Canada, which authorizes the names used and name changes on official federal government maps of Canada ...

. The mountain was first climbed in September 1976 by P. Spear and R. Workum.Glen W. Boles, Robert Kruszyna, William Lowell Putnam (1979), ''The Rocky Mountains of Canada, South'', American Alpine Club, , p.228.

Geology

Mount Shanks is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

to Jurassic periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Shanks is located in a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C.

Gallery

File:Shanks mountain.jpg, Southwest aspect from Highway 93 File:Canada 20140411 174049 (13832552264).jpg, Mt. Shanks centered, aerial view looking north

References

External links

* Mount Shanks
weather forecastMount Assiniboine Provincial Park
* Parks Canada web site
Kootenay National Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shanks, Mount Two-thousanders of British Columbia Canadian Rockies Kootenay Land District Kootenay National Park