The Committee's Punch Bowl is a small tarn on the continental divide straddling the border between the Canadian provinces of

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. George Simpson, governor of the

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 ...

, named the lake for the London-based managing committee of that company in 1824. While journeying on an important trade route in the company's trade area in what is now western Canada and parts of Alaska and the northwestern United States, he saw the lake at the summit of

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, ...

. As Simpson noted, Committee's Punch Bowl drains to two oceans. Its northwest margin is the source of the

Whirlpool River The Whirlpool River is a short river in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. It is an early tributary of the Athabasca River. The Whirlpool is formed in Athabasca Pass, collecting meltwater from the Hooker Icefield and the Mount Brown Icefield. ...

, tributary to the

Athabasca River The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') in Alberta, Canada, originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is protected in nationa ...

which runs to

Lake Athabasca Lake Athabasca ( ; French: ''lac Athabasca''; from Woods Cree: , " herethere are plants one after another") is in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta between 58° and 60° N in Canada. The lake is ...

. That lake drains into the

Rivière des Rochers Rivière des Rochers ( French for "River of Rocks") is a river in Alberta in the Peace–Athabasca Delta and Wood Buffalo National Park. It is the main outflow of Lake Athabasca and flows northward, around many islands, and meets with the Peace Riv ...

which in turn joins the

Peace River The Peace River () is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to form the ...

to form the

Slave River The Slave River is a Canadian river that flows from the confluence of the and Peace River in northeastern Alberta and runs into Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories. The river's name is thought to derive from the name for the Slavey g ...

Great Slave Lake Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories, Canada (after Great Bear Lake), List of lakes by depth, the deepest lake in North America at , and the List of lakes by area, tenth-largest lake in the world by area. It ...

from which the waters descend the

Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' èh tʃʰò literally ''big river''; Inuvialuktun: ' uːkpɑk literally ''great river'') is a river in the Canadian Canadian boreal forest, boreal forest and tundra. It forms, ...

to the Arctic Ocean. The southern outlet drains to Pacific Creek to the Wood River to the former Canoe River, now impounded and called the Canoe Reach of

Kinbasket Lake Kinbasket Lake (or Kinbasket Reservoir) is a reservoir on the Columbia River in southeast British Columbia, north of the city of Revelstoke and the town of Golden. The reservoir was created by the construction of the Mica Dam. The lake includes ...

, a reservoir of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

, which runs to the Pacific Ocean in the United States.Whittaker, John A.
"Athbasca Pass — BC — Alberta Heritage Trail"
''British Columbia History'', Vol. 44, No. 2, Summer 2011, p. 19. Victoria: British Columbia Historical Federation.Anderson, Nancy Marguerite, ''The York Factory Express'', Ronsdale Press (2021), pp. 73-78.

References

External links

*LanduseKN, '
Dr. Peter Murphy - La Grande Traverse Part 5
' (22 Sept. 2013). YouTube video series by a Professor Emeritus of Forestry with the Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, on the route through Athabasca Pass. Image and description of Committee's Punch Bowl begins at 5:00. *Martyupnorth,
Solo Backpack trip up to Athabasca Pass, Jasper, Alberta
' (2 Sept. 2012). YouTube video, with footage of Committee's Punch Bowl beginning at 10:17.

See also

References

External links

Further reading