The Hart Ranges are a major subrange of the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) 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 par ...

located in northeastern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

and western

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. The mountains constitute the southernmost portion of the

Northern Rocky Mountains The Northern Rocky Mountains, usually referred to as the Northern Rockies, are a subdivision of the Canadian Rockies comprising the northern half of the Canadian segment of the Rocky Mountains. While their northward limit is easily defined as the ...

. The Hart Ranges were named in honour of British Columbia Premier John Hart, as is the highway which traverses the Pine Pass in the northern part of the range, connecting the north-central Interior of the province to the

Peace River Regional District The Peace River Regional District is a regional district in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The regional district comprises seven municipalities and four electoral areas. Its member municipalities are the cities of Fort St. John and D ...

to the northeast.

Geography

The boundaries of the Hart Ranges are the

Rocky Mountain Trench The Rocky Mountain Trench, also known as the Valley of a Thousand Peaks or simply the Trench, is a large valley on the western side of the northern part of North America's Rocky Mountains. The Trench is both visually and cartographically a ...

and the

McGregor Plateau The McGregor Plateau is a sub-plateau of the Nechako Plateau, the northernmost major subdivision of the Interior Plateau spanning the inland regions of the Pacific Northwest. Located in British Columbia, Canada, to the east of the city of Prince G ...

on the west/southwest, the Peace Reach of

Williston Lake Williston Lake is a reservoir created by the W. A. C. Bennett Dam and is located in the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Geography The lake fills the basin of the upper Peace River, backing into the Rocky Mountain Trench which is ...

on the north, a certain line of demarcation with the

Rocky Mountain Foothills The Rocky Mountain Foothills are an upland area flanking the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, extending south from the Liard River into Alberta. Bordering the Interior Plains system, they are part of the Rocky Mountain System or Eastern Syst ...

to the east/northeast, and the Jarvis Creek to the south. The Hart Ranges is home to two

ultra-prominent peak An ultra-prominent peak, or Ultra for short, is a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of or more; it is also called a P1500. The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or fro ...

s, Mount Crysdale and Mount Ovington.

Mount Ida In Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida in Crete, and Mount Ida in the ancient Troad region of western Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), which was also known as the '' Phrygian Ida'' ...

and Mount Sir Alexander are south of Jarvis Creek and are in the

Continental Ranges The Continental Ranges is a major grouping of mountain ranges in the Rocky Mountains located in eastern British Columbia and western Alberta. It is a physiographic designation for use by geologists and is not used by the general public; it i ...

, which comprise the main and best-known part of the Rocky Mountains and run all the way south to

Marias Pass Marias Pass (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains in the western US state of Montana. Lying on the southern border of Glacier National Park, it is traversed by US Highway 2 and by the BNSF Hi-Line Subdivision. The pass is t ...

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

Sub-ranges

Official subdivisions of the Hart Ranges include the: *Dezaiko Range * Misinchinka Range (from the Peace Arm of the Williston Reservoir to

Monkman Pass Monkman Pass, in the Canadian Rockies, is southwest of Tumbler Ridge and northeast of Hansard. Found in the Hart Ranges, some consider this mountain pass as the southern limit of the informal grouping known as the Northern Rockies, although thos ...

) **

Murray Range Murray Range, is a subdivision range of the Hart Ranges, of the Northern Rockies in British Columbia, Canada. The majority of the range lies within the Pine-Lemoray Provincial Park and is noted for its snowmobiling, hiking and ski touring opp ...

Pioneer Range The Pioneer Range, is a small subdivision range of the Hart Ranges, of the Northern Rockies in British Columbia, Canada. The boundaries of the Pioneer Range are generally the Murray River to the east, Monkman Glacier to the west, Imperial Cree ...

Solitude Range Solitude Range, is a subdivision range of the Hart Ranges, of the Northern Rockies in British Columbia, Canada. The boundaries of the Solitude Range generally lie between the Murray Range and Mountain Creek to the west, Le Moray Creek to the e ...

Other areas of the Hart Ranges have no subdesignations though the area around Mount Sir Alexander has been dubbed the Mount Sir Alexander Group by The Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia; however, this is not an official designation.

Industry

The Hart Ranges are the location of a number of large coal mines focused on the remote communities of

Tumbler Ridge Tumbler Ridge is a district municipality in the foothills of the B.C. Rockies in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. With a population of 2,399 (2021) living in a townsite, t ...

and Chetwynd.

Preservation

The southernmost tip of the mountain range is preserved within Kakwa Provincial Park and Protected Area. Other provincial parks located within the range include

Monkman Provincial Park Monkman Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, southwest of Tumbler Ridge and northeast of Hansard (railway point), Hansard. Like Monkman Pass, Monkman Lake, Monkman Creek and Monkman Falls, it was named after Alexander Monkman. ...

and Hole-in-the-Wall Provincial Park.

References

* Mountain ranges of British Columbia Ranges of the Canadian Rockies Northern Interior of British Columbia {{BritishColumbiaInterior-geo-stub