Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

SELKIRK MOUNTAINS

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V24, Page 612 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

SELKIRK MOUNTAINS , a range in the S.E. of See also:British See also:Columbia, See also:Canada, extending N. for about 200 M. from the See also:American frontier with a breadth of about 8o m. and bounded E., W. and N. by the Columbia See also:river. Though often spoken of as See also:part of the Rocky See also:Mountain See also:system, they are really distinct, and belong to an older See also:geological See also:epoch; consisting mainly of crystalline or highly metamorphosed rocks, granites, See also:gneiss, See also:schists; their outline too is rounder and less serrated than that of the Rockies. On the S.E. is the See also:Purcell range, with the See also:main See also:chain of the Rockies still farther E., and on the W. the See also:Gold range, prolonged northward as the Cariboo Mountains. They do not rise much above to,000 ft., the highest peaks being See also:Sir Donald (named after See also:Lord Strathcona), 10,645 ft.; See also:Macdonald (named after Sir See also:John Macdonald), 9440 ft.; and See also:Mount See also:Tupper (after Sir See also:Charles Tupper), 9030 ft. The scenery is See also:wild and magnificent; below the See also:snow-See also:line, especially on the western See also:side, the slopes are densely wooded, and enormous glaciers fill the upper valleys; of these the most celebrated is that of the Illecillewaet, near See also:Glacier See also:House, on the See also:Canadian Pacific railway. The Selkirks are crossed by the railway at See also:Rogers Pass, discovered in 1883. The See also:engineering difficulties overcome are greater than at any other portion of the line, and the grades are in places very steep. A magnificent See also:series of caverns, called the Nakimu Caves, occur in the Glacier See also:Park Reserve not far from Glacier on the Canadian Pacific railway. These caves are formed by the Cougar See also:Creek, and were first comprehensively surveyed in 1905-1906 (see the Canadian Surveyor-See also:General's See also:Report for that See also:year).

End of Article: SELKIRK MOUNTAINS

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
SELKIRK (or SELCRA1G), ALEXANDER (1676-1721) 		[next]
SELKIRK, THOMAS DOUGLAS, 5TH EARL OF (1771–1820)

Site © 2006 - Net Industries