| Mount Harkin | |
|---|---|
Mount Harkin seen from Kootenay Valley Overlook along Highway 93
| |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,979 m (9,774 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 774 m (2,539 ft)[1] |
| Parent peak | Mount Assiniboine (3618 m)[1] |
| Listing | Mountains of British Columbia |
| Coordinates | 50°47′49″N 115°51′52″W / 50.79694°N 115.86444°W / 50.79694; -115.86444[2] |
| Geography | |
  Mount Harkin Location of Mount Harkin in British Columbia Show map of British Columbia Mount Harkin Mount Harkin (Canada) Show map of Canada | |
| Location | Kootenay National Park British Columbia, Canada |
| District | Kootenay Land District |
| Parent range | Mitchell Range Canadian Rockies |
| Topo map | NTS 82J13 Mount Assiniboine |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | Cambrian[3] |
| Type of rock | Ottertail Limestone[4] |
Mount Harkin is a 2,979-metre (9,774-foot) mountain summit located in the Kootenay River Valley along the eastern border of Kootenay National Park. Park visitors can see the peak from Highway 93, also known as the Banff–Windermere Highway. It is part of the Mitchell Range, which is a sub-range of the Canadian RockiesofBritish Columbia, Canada. Its nearest higher peak is Mount Assiniboine, 14.0 km (8.7 mi) to the northeast.[1]
The mountain was named in 1923 by Morrison P. Bridgland in honor of James Bernard Harkin (1875–1955), who was Canada's first National Parks commissioner from 1911 until 1936.[5] Harkin established 11 new national parks and has been called the "Father of the National Parks of Canada."[6] The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1924 by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.[2] Bridgland (1878–1948) was a Dominion Land Surveyor who named many peaks in the Canadian Rockies.[7]
Mount Harkin is composed principally of Ottertail limestone, a sedimentary rock laid down during the PrecambriantoCambrian periods and pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.[8]
Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Harkin is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[9] Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains east into tributaries of the Cross River, or directly west to the Kootenay River.
