Scylla Mountain is a

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 ...

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

Scylla Mountain is located in the Battle Range 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 Mic ...

. The remote peak is set approximately west-northwest of Wrong Peak and south of Moby Dick Mountain. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north to Houston Creek and south into headwaters of the Westfall River, which are both tributaries of the Duncan River. Scylla Mountain is more notable for its steep rise above local terrain than for its absolute elevation.

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 as the summit rises 1,400 meters (4,593 ft) above the Westfall River in .

History

The peak was named in 1947 by Andrew J. Kauffman II and Norman Brewster, whereas 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 summit was made in August 1959 by a Dartmouth Mountaineering Club party.Samuel Silverstein (1960), ''Battle Range, Southern Selkirks'', Americanalpineclub.org
/ref> The mountain's toponym was officially adopted on June 9, 1960, 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 ...

, however, the location was officially corrected on October 3, 1973. This mountain's name refers to

Scylla In Greek mythology, Scylla ( ; , ) is a legendary, man-eating monster that lives on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite her counterpart, the sea-swallowing monster Charybdis. The two sides of the strait are within an arrow's range o ...

, a metamorphic monster in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

who lives on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite her counterpart

Charybdis Charybdis (; , ; , ) is a sea monster in Greek mythology. Charybdis, along with the sea monster Scylla, appears as a challenge to epic characters such as Odysseus, Jason, and Aeneas. Scholarship locates her in the Strait of Messina. The idiom " ...

. The two sides of the

Strait of Messina The Strait of Messina (; ) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria (Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south, with ...

are so close that sailors attempting to avoid Charybdis would pass dangerously close to Scylla and vice versa. Scylla Mountain is situated northeast of Charybdis Mountain. Scylla is pronounced: .

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 ...

, Scylla Mountain 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 Scylla Glacier on the west slope of the peak and a small unnamed icefield on the north slope.

Gallery

RockyMountainsBattleRange.JPG, Battle Range, from summit of Typee Mountain. Scylla Mountain is centered.

References

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External links