Otter Mountain is a prominent glaciated

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 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 Columbia ...

of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated northeast of

Stewart, British Columbia Stewart is a district municipality at the head of the Portland Canal in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, near the Alaskan panhandle. In 2011, its population was about 494. History The Nisga'a, who live around the Nass River, called the h ...

, and the nearest higher peak is Mount Pattullo, to the north. Otter ranks as the 23rd most

topographically prominent In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

summit of Canada. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises above Bitter Creek Valley in . This mountain's toponym was adopted as "Mount Otter" on 24 July 1945, and officially renamed Otter Mountain on 5 November 1953 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 ...

. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains west into Bitter Creek which is a tributary of the Bear River, or east to Nelson Creek which is part of the Nass River drainage basin, and all ultimately finds its way to the Inside Passage.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Otter 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 of western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Coast Mountains where they are forced upward by the range ( Orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall. As a result, the Coast Mountains experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. This climate supports several glaciers on Otter Mountain's western flank, the Bear River Glacier on the north aspect, and the Cambria Icefield to the east and south.

Gallery

File:Otter Mountain.jpg, Otter Mountain from the west. Cambria Peak furthest to the left, and Red Mountain Project (gold mine) visible to the right File:Otter mtn.jpg

References

{{Boundary Ranges Two-thousanders of British Columbia Pacific Ranges Stewart Country Boundary Ranges

Climate

See also

Gallery

References