Taurus Mountain is a mountain
summit located in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
Description
Taurus Mountain is a 2,972-meter-elevation (9,751-foot) peak situated 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) southeast of
The Bugaboos
The Bugaboos are a mountain range in the Purcell Mountains of eastern British Columbia, Canada. The granite spires of the group are a popular mountaineering destination. The Bugaboos are protected within Bugaboo Provincial Park.
Geography
Th ...
, in the
Purcell Mountains
The Purcell Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which includes the Selkirk, Monashee, and Cariboo Mountains. They are located on the west side of the Rocky Mounta ...
which are a subrange of the
Columbia Mountains
The Columbia Mountains are a group of mountain ranges along the upper Columbia River in British Columbia, Montana, Idaho and Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km² (52,491 sq mi). The range is bounded by the Rocky Mountain Tre ...
.
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 marke ...
from Taurus Mountain drains southwest into the headwaters of Howser Creek thence
Duncan Lake; and from the north slope into headwaters of Frances Creek and eventually the
Columbia River.
Topographic relief
Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin w ...
is significant as the summit rises over 1,280 meters (4,200 feet) above Frances Creek in two kilometers (1.24 mile).
History
The name
Taurus
Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to:
* Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign
* Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac
* Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus
* '' Bos tauru ...
was applied to the mountain by
Arthur O. Wheeler during his survey trip across Bugaboo Pass in 1910.
Conrad Kain
Conrad Kain (10 August 1883, Nasswald – 2 February 1934, Cranbrook, British Columbia) was an Austrian mountain guide who guided extensively in Europe, Canada, and New Zealand, and was responsible for the first ascents of more than 60 routes in ...
said that Wheeler called the mountain Taurus "because it was like a bull." From the Bugaboo region its general appearance suggests a formidable bull.
The mountain's toponym was officially adopted June 9, 1960, by the
Geographical Names Board of Canada.
[
The ]first ascent
In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...
of the summit was made July 28, 1946, by Edward F. Little, Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy
Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy (July 6, 1888 – February 24, 1973) was a historian and social philosopher, whose work spanned the disciplines of history, theology, sociology, linguistics and beyond. Born in Berlin, Germany into a non-observant Jewish ...
and Alex Fabergé.[Edward F. Little, Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, ''Ascent of Taurus'' (1947), Canadian Alpine Journal](_blank)
/ref>
The second ascent was made August 1, 1952, by three members of the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club: Peter Robinson, Bob Collins and Bill Briggs.Peter Robinson (1953), ''North America, Canada, British Columbia and Alberta, Ascents in the Northern Purcell Range, 1952'', American Alpine Journal
/ref>
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 ...
, Taurus Mountain is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.
See also
* Geography of British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, bordered by the Pacific Ocean. With an area of it is Canada's third-largest province. The province is almost four times the size of the United Kingdom and larger than every United States ...
* Purcell Supergroup
The Purcell Supergroup is composed primarily of argillites, carbonate rocks, quartzites, and mafic igneous rocks of late Precambrian ( Mesoproterozoic) age. It is present in an area of about 15,000 km2 (5,800 sq. mi.) in southwestern Alberta ...
*
References
{{Reflist
External links
* Taurus Mountain
weather forecast
* Taurus Mountain (photo)
Flickr
Account of the first ascent
Purcell Mountains
Two-thousanders of British Columbia
Kootenay Land District