The Waddington Range is a subrange of the

Pacific Ranges , photo = Mount Garibaldi (50997016501).jpg , photo_size = 280px , photo_caption = Mount Garibaldi massif as seen from Squamish , map = , map_image = South BC-NW USA-relief PacificRanges.png , m ...

of 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 ...

in southwestern

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 ...

. It is only about 4,000 km² (1,545 sq mi) in area, relatively small in area within the expanse of the range, but it is the highest area of the

and of the

, being crowned by its namesake

Mount Waddington Mount Waddington, once known as Mystery Mountain, is the highest peak in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Although it is lower than Mount Fairweather and Mount Quincy Adams, which straddle the United States border between Alaska ...

4,019 m (13,186 ft). The Waddington Range is also extremely rugged and more a complex of peaks than a single icefield, in contrast to the other huge icefield-massifs of the southern

, which are not so peak-studded and tend to have more contiguous icemasses.

History

The difficulty of access to the core of the massif delayed actual sighting, measurement and climbing of

until 1936; it had only been espied from

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

by climbers in the 1930s and was at first referred to as Mystery Mountain - because its existence until then had been unknown. Apparently even in

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

lore its existence was spoken of only vaguely, as a possibility, and it seems unlikely the core of the massif was penetrated by any

adventurer given the tremendous difficulty posed even for mountaineers equipped with modern outdoor gear. At its eastern edge, deep in the Grand Canyon of the

Homathko River The Homathko River is one of the major rivers of the southern Coast Mountains of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the interior Chilcotin Country to the coastal inlets of the P ...

, occurred the first gruesome event in the guerilla war known to history as the

Chilcotin War The Chilcotin War, the Chilcotin Uprising or the Bute Inlet Massacre was a confrontation in 1864 between members of the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people in British Columbia and white road construction workers. Fourteen men employed by Alfred Wadd ...

of 1864. This resulted from the attempt by

Alfred Waddington Alfred Penderell Waddington (October 2, 1801 – February 26, 1872), during his later years, was actively involved in the Colony of Vancouver Island in what later became the province of British Columbia, Canada. From 1860 to 1861 he was a re ...

to build a road from

Bute Inlet , image = Bute Inlet.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Strathcona RD, British Col ...

Barkerville Barkerville was the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush in British Columbia, Canada, and is preserved as a historic town. It is located on the north slope of the Cariboo Plateau near the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel. BC Highway 26, which ...

Port Waddington A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, a land-survey left over from those days, remains on the map on the south bank of the Homathko where it empties into

Bute Inlet , image = Bute Inlet.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Strathcona RD, British Col ...

Waddington's Road Alfred Penderell Waddington (October 2, 1801 – February 26, 1872), during his later years, was actively involved in the Colony of Vancouver Island in what later became the province of British Columbia, Canada. From 1860 to 1861 he was a re ...

was never completed because of the war, but was examined in later years as one of the main possible routings for the mainline of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

. Choice of the route would see the terminus of the railway at

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

but despite strong favour from that city and the province the railway chose

Burrard Inlet french: Baie Burrard , image = Burrard Inlet 201807.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Aerial view of Burrard Inlet , image_bathymetry = Burrard-Inlet-map-en.svg , alt_bathymetry ...

, which as a result became today's

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Neighbouring ranges and icefields

Immediately north of the Waddington Range is the

Pantheon Range The Pantheon Range is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia. It is located between the edge of the Chilcotin Plateau at Tatla Lake on its northeast and the Klinaklini River on its west, with a southeastern ...

, while to its south is the

Whitemantle Range The Whitemantle Range is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia. Located between the heads of Bute Inlet on the east and Knight Inlet on the west, it is extremely rugged and glaciated. Its highest summit is ...

. Northeast across Mosley Creek, the main west fork of the

, is the

Niut Range The Niut Range is 3600 km2 (c. 1390 sq mi) in area. It is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, although in some classifications it is considered part of the Chilcotin Ranges (which in some classificatio ...

, while east across the

is the

Homathko Icefield The Homathko Icefield is an icefield in British Columbia, Canada. Officially named the Homathko Snowfield from 1950 until the current name was adopted in 1976, it is one of the largest icefields in the southern half of the Coast Mountains, with an ...

and its attendant ranges. Northwest across the

Klinaklini River The Klinaklini River ( Kwak'wala name T̓linat̓łina also spelled ƛ̓inaƛ̓ina) is one of the major rivers of the Pacific Ranges section of the Coast Mountains in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates in the Pantheon Range ...

is the

Ha-Iltzuk Icefield The Ha-Iltzuk Icefield is an icefield in the central Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. It is the largest icefield in the Coast Mountains south of the Alaska Panhandle, with an area of . It is located on the west s ...

, which is the largest of the coastal icecaps of the southern Coast Mountains, larger than the Waddington Range's complex of glaciers and peaks or the

Summits

* Mount Tiedemann * Asperity Mountain * Mount Munday * Grenelle Mountain * Spearman Peak * Bravo Peak

References

External links

Waddington Range entry in the Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia
* {{Pacific Ranges