Centennial Range
{{short description|Subrange of the Saint Elias Mountains in Yukon, Canada}}
{{Infobox mountain
|name = Centennial Range
|other_name =
|photo =
|photo_alt =
|photo_caption =
|country_type =
|country = Canada
|region_type = Territory
|region = Yukon
|border =
|border1 =
|biome =
|highest = Centennial Peak
|elevation_m = 3820
|elevation_system =
|elevation_ref =
| listing = {{unbulleted list
|Canada highest peaks 26th}}
|coordinates = {{coord|60|56|49|N|140|43|18|W|type:mountain|format=dms|display=inline}}
|coordinates_ref = {{cite cgndb|id=KABDE|name=Centennial Peak|access-date=2022-09-18}}
|range = Saint Elias Mountains
|length_km =
|width_km =
|area_km2 = 341
|area_ref =
|length_orientation = east/west
|length_ref =
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|range_coordinates = {{coord|60|56|52|N|140|44|37|W|type:mountain|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|range_coordinates_ref = {{cite cgndb|id=KABDF|name=Centennial Range|access-date=2022-09-18}}
|geology =
|period =
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|map = Canada Yukon
|map_alt =
|map_caption = Location in SW Yukon
}}
The Centennial Range is a sub-range of the Saint Elias Mountains. It is located inside Kluane National Park and Reserve in the far west of Yukon Territory in Canada. It consists of fourteen major peaks, and was named for Canada's Centennial in 1967.{{cite book|last=Coutts|first=Robert C.|title=Yukon Places & Names|year=1980|publisher=Gray's Publishing|location=Sidney, British Columbia|isbn=0888260857|pages=51}} Its peaks bear the names of Canada's provinces and territories, with the exception of Nunavut, which was not a territory at the time.{{cite journal|title=A mountain by any other name|journal=Canadian Geographic|date=September–October 2001|url=http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/so01/mtn_names.asp|access-date=2013-03-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091210215454/http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/So01/mtn_names.asp#|archive-date=2009-12-10|url-status=dead}} The tallest point is Centennial Peak. Nine of the peaks were climbed as part of the Yukon Alpine Centennial Expedition, part of the 1967 celebrations.{{cite web|title=Climbing For The Centennial|url=http://expo67.ncf.ca/climbing_for_the_centennial.html|publisher=Weekend Magazine|date=October 7, 1967}}
Geography
File:CentennialRangeNRCmap cropped.jpg
The Saint Elias Mountains are the highest in Canada, and second in North America only to the adjacent Alaska Range. They are located at the intersection of the Alaska, Yukon Territory, and British Columbia borders. The Centennial Range is north of Mount Logan and to the west of Mount Lucania. The peaks are lower than the surrounding mountains; no Centennial peak is over {{convert|4000|m}}, while nearby peaks like Mount Steele and Lucania measure over {{convert|5000|m}}.{{cite web|title=Centennial Range|url=http://bivouac.com//ArxPg.asp?ArxId=1050|publisher=Bivouac.com|accessdate=14 March 2013}} The range lies within Kluane National Park and Reserve.
The range runs roughly east to west, and is bounded by the Walsh Glacier to the south, and the Chitina Glacier to the north.{{cite web|title=Centennial Range map|url=http://expo67.ncf.ca/centennial_mountain_climbing_000aa001.html|publisher=Government of Canada, Energy Mines and Resources, Surveys and Mapping Branch|year=1967}} The peaks are named for Canada's provinces and territories (with the exceptions of Centennial Peak and Mount Baffin, named after Baffin Island), and loosely correspond geographically to the positions of their namesakes. Mount Northwest is the farthest west, while Mount Nova Scotia is the easternmost peak. Nunavut does not have a mountain due to it not being a territory in 1967, when the peaks were named. The highest point in the range is Centennial Peak at {{convert|3820|m}}.{{cite web|title=Centennial Peak|url=http://bivouac.com//MtnPg.asp?MtnId=2834|publisher=Bivouac.com|accessdate=14 March 2013}}
Yukon Alpine Centennial Expedition
The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) had been interested in exploration of the more remote areas of the Saint Elias range since 1963. The club wanted to plan an expedition commemorating the one-hundred year anniversary of the founding of Canada, as well as a joint venture with the American Alpine Club to commemorate the centennial of the Alaska Purchase. The ACC president started discussions with the federal Centennial Commission in 1965 about a mountaineering event as a component of Canada's centennial celebrations. Federal funding was approved for the expedition in 1966.{{cite journal|last=Reichwein|first=PearlAnn|title=Expedition Yukon 1967: Centennial and the Politics of Mountaineering in Kluane|journal=Canadian Historical Review|publisher=University of Toronto Press|date=September 2011|volume=92|issue=3|pages=481–514|doi=10.1353/can.2011.0042|s2cid=154729804 }}
Teams were assembled to represent each province and territory. The proposal called for each team to be made up of residents of the respective area, but due to a shortage of applications, a disproportionate number of climbers came from the mountainous province of British Columbia. The Centennial expedition was scheduled over two weeks in late July 1967.
Three base camps were established, called T-Bone, Prairie (named for the Canadian Prairies), and Fundy (named for the Bay of Fundy). Climbers from T-Bone attempted Mount Northwest, Mount Yukon, and Mount British Columbia. The Prairie camp supported teams on Mount Alberta, Mount Saskatchewan, Mount Ontario, and Mount Manitoba, as well as Centennial Peak. The Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia teams used the Fundy base camp. In all, nine of the expeditions were successful, despite the fact that the climbers were assessing new routes and fighting windy, wet weather. Mount Saskatchewan remains unclimbed.{{cite web|title=Attempt on Mount Saskatchewan falls short|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/attempt-on-mount-saskatchewan-falls-short-1.568521|work=CBC News|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|accessdate=8 December 2013|date=May 26, 2005}}
Major peaks
Peaks are listed by their position west to east. Heights from Fisher.{{cite book|last=Fisher|first=Marnie|title=Expedition Yukon|year=1972|publisher=Thomas Nelson & Sons (Canada)|location=Don Mills, Ontario|isbn=9780176350406|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/expeditionyukon00fish}}
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- Mount Northwest, {{convert|3215|m}}
- Mount Yukon, {{convert|3230|m}}
- Mount British Columbia, {{convert|3108|m}}
- Mount Baffin, {{convert|3108|m}}
- Mount Alberta, {{convert|3328|m}}
- Mount Saskatchewan, {{convert|3462|m}}
- Mount Manitoba, {{convert|3398|m}}
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- Centennial Peak, {{convert|3820|m}}
- Mount Ontario, {{convert|3718|m}}
- Mount Quebec, {{convert|3749|m}}
- Mount Prince Edward Island, {{convert|3736|m}}
- Mount New Brunswick, {{convert|3387|m}}
- Mount Newfoundland, {{convert|3670|m}}
- Mount Nova Scotia, {{convert|3291|m}}
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References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://expo67.ncf.ca/centennial_peak_p2.html "A Photographic Essay about the climb"], Stan Rosenbaum on Centennial Peak, 1967