Whitecap 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 ...
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
Whitecap Mountain is the highest point in the
Bendor Range
The Bendor Range is a small but once-famous subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, about It is approximately in area and about 40 km long (NW to SE) and about 18 km at its widest. It lies between Anderson Lake on the ...
which is a subrange of the
Coast Mountains
The Coast Mountains () are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...
.
The remote glaciated peak is located north-northeast of
Pemberton and west of
Lillooet
Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abo ...
. Precipitation runoff from this mountain's south slope drains to
Anderson Lake via Connel Creek, the northwest slope drains to
Carpenter Lake via Keary Creek, and the east slope drains to
Seton Lake
Seton Lake is a lake in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. On the northeast side is Mission Ridge. On the southwest is the Cayoosh Range. By road, the eastern end is about southwest of Lillooet.
Name origin
In 1827, ...
via Whitecap Creek. This is all within the
Fraser River
The Fraser River () is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of V ...
watershed.
Whitecap Mountain is notable for its steep rise above local terrain 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 over 1,300 metres (4,265 ft) above the Connel Creek valley in . The mountain's local descriptive 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 ...
.
[
]
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 ...
, Whitecap Mountain is located in a tundra climate
The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...
zone.weather front
A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For ins ...
s originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Coast Mountains where they are forced upward by the range (orographic lift
Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...
), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall. As a result, the Coast Mountains experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. This climate supports three unnamed glaciers on the north, northwest, and east slopes of the mountain.
See also
* Geography of British Columbia
* Geology of British Columbia
The geology of British Columbia is a function of its location on the leading edge of the North American continent. The mountainous physiography and the diversity of the different types and ages of rock hint at the complex geology, which is st ...
References
External links
* Weather
Whitecap Mountain
{{Canada prominent
Two-thousanders of British Columbia
Pacific Ranges
Lillooet Land District