Mount Cartier is a mountain

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...

located in

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

Description

Mount Cartier is part of the

Duncan Ranges The Duncan Ranges are a subrange of the Selkirk Mountains of the Columbia Mountains in southeastern British Columbia, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean t ...

which is a subrange of the

Selkirk Mountains The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica ...

. The peak is situated southeast of Revelstoke and east of Mount Begbie which is the nearest higher neighbor. Nearby peaks include Mount Mackenzie to the north-northwest and Ghost Peak, northeast. Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from the mountain drains west to

Arrow Lakes The Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the Columbia River. The lakes are situated between the Selkirk Mountains to the east and the Monashee Mountains to the west. Bea ...

which is a reservoir of the Columbia River. Mount Cartier is more notable for its steep rise above local terrain than for its absolute elevation as

topographic relief Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin w ...

is significant with the summit rising 2,174 meters (7,133 ft) above Upper Arrow Lake in . From the lake, a 15-kilometer trail leads to a fire lookout and the upper slopes. The trail and lookout were constructed in the early 1920s, and while the lookout still stands, it hasn't been used for fire detection since the 1930s. The mountain trail is also a helibiking destination with helicopters lifting mountain bikers to a helipad below the summit.

Etymology

The mountain is named after Sir

George-Étienne Cartier Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, (pronounced ; September 6, 1814May 20, 1873) was a Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation. The English spelling of the name—George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling—is explained ...

(1814–1873), Prime Minister of Canada (1858–62). He was born at Antoine, Quebec; served as attorney general for Lower Canada (1856); and as joint Prime Minister with Sir John A. Macdonald. He was a strong advocate for Confederation and expansion in the west. The mountain's toponym was officially adopted September 30, 1932, 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 Can ...

, although this toponym had appeared in publications as early as 1887, if not earlier.Sessional Papers Volume 7, (1887) p. 25
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Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

, Mount Cartier is located in a subarctic climate 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 a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In N ...

to the north.

Gallery

File:Mount Cartier from Revelstoke ski slopes.jpg, North aspect of Mount Cartier seen from Revelstoke ski slopes File:Mt. Cartier and Ghost Peak.jpg, Mt. Cartier (left), Ghost Peak (right) File:Mount Cartier, n.jpg, North aspect of Mount Cartier seen from

Revelstoke Mountain Resort Revelstoke Mountain Resort (RMR) is a ski resort on Mount Mackenzie, just outside Revelstoke, British Columbia in Canada. It is owned by Northland Properties. Currently, the resort has a vertical drop, the longest vertical descent of any sk ...

References

External links