Mount Rundle
| Mount Rundle | |
|---|---|
 Mount Rundle as seen fromVermilion Lakes | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,948 m (9,672 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 1,304 m (4,278 ft)[2] |
| Coordinates | 51°07′27″N115°28′13″W/ 51.12417°N 115.47028°W[2] |
| Naming | |
| Native name | Waskahigan Watchi(Cree) |
| Geography | |
  Mount Rundle Alberta,Canada | |
| Parent range | Canadian Rockies(South Banff Ranges/Rundle Peaks) |
| Topo map | NTS82O3Canmore |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1888 by J.J. McArthur |
| Easiest route | Scramble |
Mount Rundleis amountaininCanada'sBanff National Parkoverlooking the towns ofBanffandCanmore, Alberta.TheCreename wasWaskahigan Watchior house mountain.[Notes 1][1][failed verification] In 1858John Palliserrenamed[1]the mountain afterReverend Robert Rundle,aMethodistinvited by theHudson's Bay Companyto domissionarywork in western Canada in the 1840s. He introducedsyllabicsthere[Notes 2]—a written language developed for the Cree, as part of his missionary work.[3]He only visited theStoney-Nakodaof the area around what is now called Mount Rundle in 1844 and 1847.[4]
Mt. Rundle could actually be considered a small mountain range as the mountain extends for over 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), on the south side of theTrans-Canada Highwayeastward from Banff to Canmore with seven distinct peaks along the way.[2]The third peak southeast of Banff is the highest at 9,675 feet (2,949 m).[2][5]West of theSpray Lakesroad is theEast End of Rundle— locally known as EEOR[Notes 3]—which rises above Whiteman's Gap just south of Canmore. The Rundle Peaks are part of the South Banff Ranges, along with its siblings—theSundance Range,Sulphur Mountainand theGoat Range.[5]
Geology
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Mount Rundle consists oflimestones,dolomiticlimestones,dolomitesandshalesofPaleozoic(Late DevoniantoMississippian) age. In ascending order, they belong to thePalliser,ExshawandBanff Formations,topped by theRundle Group,which was named after the mountain.[6][7]
Mount Rundle illustrates the classic limestone-shale-limestone "sandwich" of the front ranges.[8]The basal "slice of bread" is the lower massive cliffs of tough grey Pallister Formation limestones and dolomites.[8]The "sandwich filling" is the Banff Formation, a layer of softer, more easily eroded, dark brownish-gray to blackcalcareousshale with thin beds ofargillaceouslimestone.[9]The top layer of the geologic sandwich is the grey limestones and dolomites of the Rundle Group that form the massive upper cliffs at the top of Mount Rundle. Between the Palliser and the Banff lie the thin, recessive shales of the Exshaw Formation (the "lettuce leaf" of the sandwich), covered with debris from above.[8]
The Paleozoic "sandwich" is part of the Rundlethrust sheetthat was moved up from the west along the Rundlethrust faultand emplaced on top of the younger rocks (theEarly CretaceousMist Mountain Formation) that underlie Canmore and the forested slopes along theBow River.The thrust faulting occurred during the ColumbianOrogenybetween late Jurassic and early Cretaceous time. At that time a collision oftectonic platescaused huge sheets of sedimentary rock in what is nowBritish Columbiato become detached and slide eastward to northeastward over their neighbors, piling up to form the southernCanadian Rockies.This left the Paleozoic strata on Mount Rundledippingsteeply to the southwest, so that the southwest-facing side of the mountain forms an extensivedip slope.Geologists consider Mount Rundle to be a classic example of a mountain cut in dipping layered rocks, with the tilted strata giving the mountain its shape.[2][8][10][11]
The most recent stage in the history of Mount Rundle began in thePleistoceneepochabout 2 million years ago with the sculpting and gouging of the Canadian Rockies by glaciers, and then by streams and rivers.[11]Finally, after the glaciers retreated for the last time, a series of steep, tree-coveredalluvial fansbegan to grow at the mouths of the deep gulches on the northeast-facing side of the mountain.
Commerce
[edit]Rundle rockorRundle stone,a natural stone, first quarried on Mount Rundle, is a commondimension stoneused in southernAlbertafor landscaping and building purposes. It has been used in the construction of theBanff Springs Hoteland several of theParks Canadabuildings. It is fine-grained sandstone dating back to the Triassic Period.[12]
Scrambles
[edit]At the EEOR near Canmore there is a well-known scramble, the Goat Creek hiking trail, with its starting point at parking trailhead, which starts at the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Trail just south of the Canmore Reservoir aboveGrassi Lakes.This is also the beginning of the Mount Rundle Traverse, a demanding trek to mount all of Rundle's peaks from Goat Creek parking lot to the Banff Springs Hotel. Mount Rundle is one of the most popularscramblesin the area, and is relatively straightforward for experienced hikers.
In Banff, theSpray Rivertrailhead for the first peak taking the Mount Rundle Trail, is near the Spray River bridge on the road to the Banff Springs Golf Course. The all-day hike (from 8–10 hours) from the trailhead to the peak is about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) one-way and has an elevation gain of about 993 metres (3,258 ft) to the cliff bank on the first peak and 1,579 metres (5,180 ft) to the summit.[13]Although it is called non-technical, it is considered gruelling by some. About halfway up there is a Central Gully, a huge watercourse with a well-worn path which is a dead end. Cliffs become higher and more vertical and there is no scrambling route. The real route crosses the watercourse and then immediately turns left (watch for markings). As one passes the treeline, the hiker ventures onto a feature called the "Dragon's back", where the route narrows between two steep gullies. The only real obstacle at this point is perseverance at the tread-mill like scree which slows progress to a two steps forward, one step back pattern.
The complete traverse from Banff to Canmore (staying always on the ridge) of the integral ridge was done "solo" in 1976 by the late Jean-Pierre Cadot. It required one bivouac, much scrambling, easy fifth-class rock climbing and one section was very involved and required lay-backing the ridge with a high degree of exposure. A long rappel was necessary to overcome a very steep section and it is most likely that the rappel station is still in place.
Scenic viewpoints
[edit]In 2000 Dave Birrell described Mount Rundle as one of the most recognized Canadian mountains.[14]Painter, print-maker and art teacher,Walter PhillipsRCA[Notes 4](1884–1963) described Mount Rundle as his, "bread and butter mountain. I never tire of painting it, for it is never the same. In deep shadow in the morning, it borrows a warm glow from the setting sun at the end of the day. Its colour runs the gamut from orange to cold blue-grey, with overtones of violet and intervals of green."
From Vermilion Lakes
[edit]The viewpoint from which most photographs are taken, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Mount Rundle, at the end of Vermilion Lakes road, with Vermillion Lakes in the foreground.[14]
- Scenic viewpoints
-
Mount Rundle seen fromVermilion Lakes -
Mount Rundle reflected in theVermilion Lakes -
Mount Rundle seen from theBow Valley -
Mount Rundle, south face
Mount Rundle and Sulphur Mountain can be seen fromMount Norquayon the north side of the Trans-Canada. The Banff Fairmont hotel patio and restaurants look out over Mount Rundle andTunnel Mountain.
In popular culture
[edit]Mount Rundle is depicted on the cover ofThe Ghost Inside's albumGet What You Give.
Notes
[edit]- ^Grand Chief Matthew Mukash (12 March 2009)."At the Conference on Construction Val d'Or".gcc.ca.The Grand Council of the Crees. Archived fromthe originalon 28 February 2017.
When Europeans first came to our homeland we remarked that these people did not appear to be enthusiasts of the outdoors. They closed themselves in box-shaped structures and did whatever work (and play) they did inside. We called the Europeans wemstigooshewich or the "shaped wood people", recalling the curiously shaped wooden ships that they arrived in. We called their square-shaped homes "waskahigan", which literally means "the structure you enclose yourself in". When they were not satisfied with one enclosure they made another one around the first, which they called a "stockade". Over time, we learned to appreciate the lifestyle they introduced to us. Today, most, if not all Crees, live in these "waskahigan" style dwellings...It was only some forty or so years ago that our people began moving into these waskahigan.
- ^James Evansthe supervisor of the Wesleyan missionaries in Rupert's Land who is credited with devising the Cree syllabics
- ^pronounced Eeyore, like the character inMilne'sWinnie-the-Poohseries
- ^Walter Phillips played an important role in the development of their visual arts program at theBanff Centre,then known as the Banff School of Fine Arts. ItsWalter Phillips Gallery,which focuses oncontemporary art,is named after him. TheGlenbow Museumin Calgary, Alberta holds an extensive collection of Phillips works and a research archive.
References
[edit]- ^abc"Mount Rundle".cdnrockiesdatabases.ca.Retrieved11 September2019.
- ^abcde"Mount Rundle".Bivouac.com.Retrieved29 January2014.
- ^Rundle, Robert (1977),The Rundle Journals,Glenbow Institute
- ^"Biography – RUNDLE, ROBERT TERRILL".biographi.ca.Volume XII (1891–1900). Dictionary of Canadian Biography.Retrieved11 September2019.
- ^ab"Rundle Peaks".Peakbagger.com.Retrieved29 January2014.
- ^Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units."Rundle Group".Archived fromthe originalon 22 February 2013.Retrieved29 January2014.
- ^Livingstone Formation,Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units,1953, archived fromthe originalon 7 July 2012,retrieved29 January2014
- ^abcdGadd, Ben (2008),Canadian Rockies Geology Road Trips,Corax Press, pp. 118–119,ISBN978-0-9692631-2-8
- ^"Formations"(PDF).calfrac.com.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 19 March 2017.
- ^"The Formation of the Rocky Mountains",Mountains in Nature,nd,retrieved29 January2014
- ^ab"Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists Poster"(PDF),Alberta Oil Magazine: the oil and gas publication of Canada,Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, 2007,retrieved30 January2014
- ^Foubert, Tanya (Jan 13, 2006)."At Kamenka Quarry, every stone has a story".Rocky Mountain Outlook.RetrievedFebruary 18,2018.
- ^"Mount Rundle",Trail Peak,retrieved29 January2014
- ^abBirrell, Dave (2000),50 Roadside Panoramas in the Canadian Rockies,Rocky Mountain Books Ltd
External links
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