Roche Noire is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

located in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada.

Description

The mountain is set within Jasper National Park, in the

Trident Range The South Jasper Ranges are mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the Central Main Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, located on the Continental Divide, in Jasper National Park (Alberta) and ...

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 ...

. The town of

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

is situated to the east-northeast,

Muhigan Mountain Muhigan Mountain is a mountain located in Alberta, Canada. Description The mountain is set within Jasper National Park, in the Trident Range of the Canadian Rockies. The town of Jasper is situated to the east-northeast, The Whistlers is to t ...

is to the east, and 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 ...

is to the west. The peak is composed of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

laid down from 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 the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

periods and pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the

Laramide orogeny The Laramide orogeny was a time period of mountain building in western North America, which started in the Late Cretaceous, 70 to 80 million years ago, and ended 35 to 55 million years ago. The exact duration and ages of beginning and end of the o ...

. Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from Roche Noire drains into tributaries of the

Miette River The Miette River ( or ) is a short river in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. It flows south-southwest through the Rocky Mountains before draining eastward into the Athabasca River at Jasper. The Miette forms at the base of Mount Moren, wi ...

. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 1,400 meters (4,593 feet) above Meadow Creek in three kilometers (1.9 mile).

History

The mountain was named in 1916 by Morrison P. Bridgland, and the words "Roche Noire" are

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, meaning "black rock", referring to the color of the summit.Morrison Parsons Bridgland, Robert Douglas, Édouard Deville (1917), ''Description of & Guide to Jasper Park'', Canada Department of the Interior Bridgland (1878–1948), was a Dominion Land Surveyor who named many peaks in Jasper Park and the Canadian Rockies. The mountain's toponym was officially adopted February 7, 1951, 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 ...

Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, Roche Noire 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 with wind chill factors below .

Gallery

File:Roche Noire reflected in Patricia Lake.jpg, Roche Noire from Patricia Lake File:Muhigan Mountain - Patricia Lake.jpg, Muhigan Mountain (center) seen from Patricia Lake, with Roche Noire to right.

References

External links