The Hart Ranges are a
major subrange of the
Canadian Rockies located in northeastern
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 ...
and western
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 ...
. The mountains constitute the southernmost portion of the
Northern Rocky Mountains.
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 to the northeast.
Geography
The boundaries of the Hart Ranges are the
Rocky Mountain Trench and the
McGregor Plateau on the west/southwest, the Peace Reach of
Williston Lake on the north, a certain line of demarcation with the
Rocky Mountain Foothills 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 and
Mount Sir Alexander are south of Jarvis Creek and are in the
Continental Ranges, which comprise the main and best-known part of the Rocky Mountains and run all the way south to
Marias Pass in
Montana
Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
.
;Sub-ranges
Official subdivisions of the Hart Ranges include the:
*
Misinchinka Range (from the Peace Arm of the
Williston Reservoir to
Monkman Pass)
**
Murray Range
**
Pioneer Range
**
Solitude Range
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 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 and
Hole-in-the-Wall Provincial Park.
References
{{Canadian Rockies, state=collapsed
Northern Interior of British Columbia
Cariboo Land District
Peace River Land District