Mount Vaux

Mount Vaux is a 3,310-metre (10,860-foot) mountain summit located in the Kicking Horse River valley of Yoho National Park, in the Ottertail Range of the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia, Canada. Its nearest higher peak is Mount Goodsir, 11.0 km (6.8 mi) to the southeast.[1] Mount Vaux can be seen from Highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway, which traverses the western foot of the mountain, as well as from Emerald Lake. Vaux is pronounced Vox, rhymes with box.[4]

Mount Vaux
North aspect of Mount Vaux and Hanbury Glacier
Highest point
Elevation3,310 m (10,860 ft)[1]
Prominence830 m (2,720 ft)[1]
Parent peakMount Goodsir (3567 m)[1]
ListingMountains of British Columbia
Coordinates51°15′31″N 116°31′48″W[2]
Geography
Mount Vaux is located in British Columbia
Mount Vaux
Mount Vaux
Location of Mount Vaux in British Columbia
Mount Vaux is located in Canada
Mount Vaux
Mount Vaux
Mount Vaux (Canada)
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
DistrictKootenay Land District
Protected areaYoho National Park
Parent rangeOttertail Range
Canadian Rockies
Topo mapNTS 82N7 Golden[2]
Geology
Age of rockCambrian
Type of rocksedimentary rock
Climbing
First ascent1901 Charles E. Fay, James Outram, J. Henry Scattergood, Christian Hasler Sr.[3]

History

The mountain was named in 1858 by James Hector for his friend William Sandys Wright Vaux (1818–1885), a resident antiquarian at the British Museum who helped secure funds to support Hector's Palliser Expedition report.[3]

Mount Vaux from Emerald Lake

The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1924 when approved by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.[2] The first ascent of the mountain was made in 1901 by Charles E. Fay, James Outram, and J. Henry Scattergood, with Christian Hasler Sr. as guide.[5] Outram described the view of the peak from Emerald Lake in his book, "In the Heart of the Canadian Rockies" as follows, "The drive is a lovely one, particularly where the "long-drawn aisles" of stately firs open out a vista piercing the tall, tapering trees, that form a grand enshadowed avenue nearly a mile in length, beyond which the white sunlit crest of glacier-crowned Mt. Vaux leaps high into the heavens."[6]

Geology

Mount Vaux is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Cambrian periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.[7]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Vaux is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[8] Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. Precipitation runoff from Mount Vaux drains into tributaries of the Kicking Horse River which is a tributary of the Columbia River.

See also

References
  1. "Mount Vaux". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  2. "Mount Vaux". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  3. "Mount Vaux". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  4. "Mount Vaux". BC Geographical Names. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  5. American Alpine Club Publications - Joseph Henry Scattergood, 1877-1953
  6. In the Heart of the Canadian Rockies, James Outram, Rocky Mountain Books, 2007
  7. Gadd, Ben (2008), Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias
  8. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L. & McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. ISSN 1027-5606.
View of Ottertail Range from west with Vaux (left), Chancellor Peak (center), Mount Goodsir (right)
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