Isolated Peak is a summit in

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.

Description

Isolated Peak is located in

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

Waputik Mountains The Waputik Mountains are a mountain range of the Canadian Rockies, located on the Continental Divide between Banff and Yoho National Park. Covering an area of , the range is located west of the Howse, Blaeberry and Amiskwi Rivers and east ...

of 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 ...

. Precipitation runoff from Isolated Peak drains into tributaries of the Yoho River which in turn is a tributary 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 ...

. Isolated Peak is more notable for its steep rise above local terrain than for its absolute elevation as

topographic relief Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...

is significant with the summit rising 700 meters (2,297 ft) above Twin Falls Creek in and 800 meters (2,625 ft) above Little Yoho River in . The peak is visible from Highway 1 (the Trans-Canada Highway). The nearest higher neighbor is Mount McArthur, to the west.

History

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 the mountain was made in 1901 by

Edward Whymper Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...

and James Outram with guides Christian Kaufmann,

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 ...

, Joseph Pollinger, and Joseph Bossoney. At that time the peak was an isolated nunatak in the middle of a glacier and Whymper, who named the peak, also called the peak "Insular" in addition to Isolated. The mountain's toponym was officially adopted on March 31, 1924, 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

Isolated Peak 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 ...

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 ...

, Isolated Peak 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 ...

zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. This climate supports the McArthur Glacier on the west slope of the peak and Glacier des Poilus to the north.

Gallery

File:Mount McArthur and Isolated Peak.jpg, Mt. McArthur, McArthur Glacier, and Isolated Peak (right) File:View from Iceline Trail.jpg, Mt. McArthur (left), Isolated Peak (center), Whaleback Mountain (right) File:Crossing the Iceline trial…Mt McArthur (3015m), Des Poilus Glac & Isolated Peak (2845m) behind (7897948176).jpg, Mt. McArthur (left of center) and Isolated Peak (right)

References

External links

* Isolated Peak
Weather forecast
* Parks Canada web site
Yoho National Park
{{Canadian Rockies, state=collapsed Two-thousanders of British Columbia Mountains of Yoho National Park Kootenay Land District Waputik Mountains