Pharaoh Peaks is a triple summit mountain 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 ...

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Pharaoh Peaks are part of the

Ball Range The Ball Range is a mountain range on the Continental Divide between Vermilion Pass and Red Earth Pass in Kootenay National Park, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and th ...

in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies () or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...

. The nearest higher peak is

Scarab Peak The Mesa Range () is a range of flat-topped mesas comprising the Sheehan, Pain, Tobin and Gair Mesas, situated at the head of the Rennick Glacier in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was given this descriptive name by the northern party of the New ...

, to the southwest. The mountain's name

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

was in keeping with the Egyptian theme of the immediate surrounding area, e.g., Egypt Lake, Pharaoh Lake, Mummy Lake, and Scarab Lake, which were applied in 1922 by Arthur O. Wheeler of the Interprovincial Boundary Survey. Wheeler regarded the area particularly beautiful when he wrote: ''"After 30 years of exploration, surveys and mapping the main ranges of the Canadian Rockies, the writer ... can safely say that outstanding among them for scenic charm and interest may be classed the group of peaks, lakes and alpine meadows of the Egypt Lake area."''Banff - Assiniboine: a beautiful world : a guide to the trails and the rich history of Banff National Park from Palliser Pass to Vermilion Pass, plus the core area of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park by Don Beers, Highline Publishing, 1993. The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1956 when approved by the

Geographical Names Board of Canada The Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) is a national committee with a secretariat in Natural Resources Canada, part of the Government of Canada, which authorizes the names used and name changes on official federal government maps of Canad ...

Geology

Like other mountains in Banff Park, Pharaoh Peaks are composed of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

laid down during the

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the

Laramide orogeny The Laramide orogeny was a time period of mountain building in western North America, which started in the Late Cretaceous, 80 to 70 million years ago, and ended 55 to 35 million years ago. The exact duration and ages of beginning and end of the o ...

Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, the mountain is located in a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. In terms of favorable weather, June through September are the best months to climb the mountain. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the

Bow River The headwaters of the Bow River in Alberta, Canada, start at the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, Canadian Rocky Mountains. The glacial stream that feeds Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake ...

Gallery

Pharaoh Peaks from Healy Pass.jpg, Pharaoh Peaks from the Healy Pass area

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Pharaoh Peaks
* Parks Canada web site
Banff National Park
{{Canadian Rockies, state=collapsed Two-thousanders of Alberta Alberta's Rockies

Geology

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links