Howse Pass (el. ) is a
pass
Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to:
Places
*Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland
*Pass, Poland, a village in Poland
*El Paso, Texas, a city which translates to "The Pass"
* Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see Li ...
through the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
in Canada.
The pass is located in
Banff National Park
Banff National Park is Canada, Canada's first National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous ter ...
, between
Mount Conway and
Howse Peak. From here waters flow east via
Conway Creek,
Howse River,
North Saskatchewan River
The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows event ...
to Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay. To the west it drains by the
Blaeberry River to the Columbia River and on to the Pacific Ocean.
The pass was used by
First Nations people such as the
Kootenay to the west and
Peigan to the east. In 1806 two men from
Rocky Mountain House
Rocky Mountain House is a town in west-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately west of Red Deer at the confluence of the Clearwater and North Saskatchewan Rivers, and at the crossroads of Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail) and Highway 11 (David ...
cut a rough road from the Howse River toward the pass. In June 1807
David Thompson crossed it to the Columbia River. It was named for
Joseph Howse, a
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
factor who crossed it later, in 1809. The pass was not much used,
Athabasca Pass
Athabasca Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies on the border between Alberta and British Columbia. In fur trade days it connected Jasper House on the Athabasca River with Boat Encampment on the Columbia River.Whittaker, ...
being preferred.
Howse Pass is lower than many other passes in this range and it was considered for the
Canadian Pacific
The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
's route, but
Kicking Horse Pass
Kicking Horse Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta–British Columbia border, and lying within Yoho and Banff national parks. Divide Creek forks onto both ...
was chosen instead. There has been some talk of building a road through the pass from
Saskatchewan River Crossing to
Golden, British Columbia
Golden is a town in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, west of Calgary, Alberta, and east of Vancouver.
History
In 1807, David Thompsonrenowned fur trader, surveyor, and map makerwas tasked by the North West Company to open a trading rou ...
, but this would involve cutting through the national park.
The pass was designated a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...
in 1978.
Gallery
File:Howse Pass 2013.jpg, Howse Pass from below
See also
*
List of Rocky Mountain passes on the continental divide
References
External links
*
The Vanishing Trail - The Great Divide Trail AssociationParks Canada - Howse Pass National Historic Site*
*
{{British Columbia parks
Banff National Park
Mountain passes of Alberta
Mountain passes of British Columbia
National Historic Sites in Alberta
National Historic Sites in British Columbia