Cathedral Mountain is a complex

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

located six kilometres northwest of

Lake O'Hara Lake O'Hara is a lake at an elevation of in the alpine area of Yoho National Park, in the province of British Columbia, on the western side of the Continental Divide, Great Divide with the province of Alberta and Banff National Park to the east. ...

Yoho National Park Yoho National Park ( ) is a National Parks of Canada, national park of Canada. It is located within the Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the Continental Divide of the Americas in southeastern British Columbia, bordere ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

, Canada. Its shape and structure conjures up a resemblance to a gothic cathedral that has inspired many artists, including

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an Intergovernmentalism, intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non- ...

Arthur Lismer Arthur Lismer, LL.D. (27 June 1885 – 23 March 1969) was an English-Canadian painter, member of the Group of Seven and educator. He is known primarily as a landscape painter and for his paintings of ships in dazzle camouflage. Early life ...

, who painted it in 1928. This picturesque mountain is visible from Highway 1, the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

, near

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 ...

. Its nearest higher peak is

Mount Stephen Mount Stephen, , is a mountain located in the Kicking Horse River Valley of Yoho National Park, km east of Field, British Columbia, Field, British Columbia, Canada. The mountain was named in 1886 for George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen, Geo ...

, to the west. To prevent damage to its operations, the

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, Trade name, doing business as CPKC (known as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited until 2023), is a Canadian railway holding company. Through its primary operating railroad subsidiaries, Canadian Pacific Railw ...

railway pumps overflow from Teacup Lake down the west face of Cathedral to minimize the

subglacial lake A subglacial lake is a lake that is found under a glacier, typically beneath an ice cap or ice sheet. Subglacial lakes form at the boundary between ice and the underlying bedrock, where liquid water can exist above the lower melting point of ic ...

's discharging in a phenomenon known as a .

History

The name Cathedral Mountain was in use as early as 1884 and appeared on George Dawson's 1886 map. The

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

of Cathedral Mountain was made in 1901 by James Outram, with guides Joseph Bossoney, and

Christian Klucker Christian Klucker (28 September 1853 – 21 December 1928) was a Swiss mountain guide who made many first ascents in the Alps, particularly in the Bernina Range, the Bregaglia and the Pennine Alps. Amongst his first ascents were: :*''Gurgel ...

. The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1924 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

Cathedral Mountain is 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 ...

Cambrian The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...

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 ...

, Cathedral Mountain is 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. Precipitation runoff from Cathedral Mountain drains into tributaries of the

Kicking Horse River The Kicking Horse River is in the Canadian Rockies of southeastern British Columbia, Canada. The river was named in 1858, when James Hector, a member of the Palliser Expedition, reported being kicked by his packhorse while exploring the river. Hec ...

which is a tributary 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 ...

Cathedral Crags

Cathedral Crags (3082 m) are striking pinnacles with steep, reddish cliffs located one kilometre northwest of the summit of Cathedral Mountain, near Kicking Horse Pass and the Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint. This rocky feature of Cathedral Mountain was first climbed in 1900 by James Outram, and W. Outram, with Christian Hasler Sr. as guide. The crag's name was officially adopted in 1952 by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.

Gallery

File:Cathedral Mountain with Hungabee Lake.jpg, Cathedral Mountain with Hungabee Lake File:Cathedral Crags (?), 3073m (7897953842).jpg, Cathedral Crags File:Cathedral Mountain, Yoho NP, northwest view 20240823 1.jpg, View of Cathedral Mountain, shortly before sunset in August 2024

References

External links

* Parks Canada web site
Yoho National Park
* Arthur Lismer's painting of Cathedral Mountain

*

J. E. H. MacDonald James Edward Hervey MacDonald (12 May 1873–26 November 1932) was an English-Canadian artist, best known as a member of the Group of Seven who asserted a distinct national identity combined with a common heritage stemming from early modernism ...

's 1927 painting of Cathedral Mountain
Wikimedia Commons
* {{Canadian Rockies, state=collapsed Three-thousanders of British Columbia Bow Range Mountains of Yoho National Park