Octopus Mountain 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 Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park of British Columbia, Canada.

Description

Octopus Mountain 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 ...

and is part of the Mitchell 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 southeast slope drains into the Mitchell River and all other slopes drain 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 ...

. Topographic relief is modest as the summit rises 1,330 metres (4,364 ft) above Lachine Creek in and 1,300 metres (4,265 ft) above the Mitchell River in .

History

The mountain was named in 1913 by surveyor Robert Daniel McCaw (1884–1941) but the reason for the name is unknown. The mountain's toponym was officially adopted on September 9, 1924, 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 ...

. A forest fire burned the slopes of Octopus Mountain in 2012 and consumed 932 hectares of land.Steve Jessel, ''Forest fire in Kootenay National Park continues to burn'', September 18, 2012, The Invermere Valley Echo
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Geology

Octopus Mountain 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, Octopus Mountain 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.

References

External links