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Cirque Peak (Alberta)

Coordinates: 51°42′00″N 116°25′04″W / 51.70000°N 116.41778°W / 51.70000; -116.41778
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cirque Peak
Cirque Peak from Helen Lake, July 1994
Highest point
Elevation2,993 m (9,820 ft)[1]
Prominence341 m (1,119 ft)[2]
Parent peakObservation Peak[2]
ListingMountains of Alberta
Coordinates51°42′00″N 116°25′04″W / 51.70000°N 116.41778°W / 51.70000; -116.41778[3]
Geography
Cirque Peak is located in Alberta
Cirque Peak
Cirque Peak
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
Protected areaBanff National Park
Parent rangeCanadian Rockies
Topo mapNTS 82N9 Hector Lake[3]
Climbing
First ascent1899[2][4]
Easiest routeEasy Scramble[5]

Cirque Peak is a 2,993-metre (9,820-foot) peak located directly west of Dolomite Pass in the Bow River valley of Banff National Park, in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada.

The mountain forms a cirque, hence the name.[6]

Scrambling Route

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The scrambling route (rated easy) begins just beyond Helen Lake which can be reached by following the Helen Lake/Dolomite Pass trail 6 km from the trail head beside the Icefields Parkway. From the lake, follow the trail into Dolomite Pass and then choose a line up the peak.[5]

Geology

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Like other mountains in Banff Park, Cirque Peak is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods.[7] Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.[8]

Climate

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Based on the Köppen climate classification, Cirque Peak is located in a subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[9] Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C.

References

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  1. ^ Bow Lake and Saskatchewan Crossing (Map). 1:70,000. Gem Trek Publishing. 2000. ISBN 1-895526-10-8. Archived from the original on 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  2. ^ a b c "Cirque Peak". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  3. ^ a b "Cirque Peak". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  4. ^ "Cirque Peak". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  5. ^ a b Kane, Alan (1999). "Cirque Peak". Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies. Calgary: Rocky Mountain Books. pp. 222–223. ISBN 0-921102-67-4.
  6. ^ Place-names of Alberta. Ottawa: Geographic Board of Canada. 1928. p. 34. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  7. ^ Belyea, Helen R. (1960). The Story of the Mountains in Banff National Park (PDF). parkscanadahistory.com (Report). Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  8. ^ Gadd, Ben (2008), Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias
  9. ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L. & McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606.
Cirque Peak and Helen Lake (bottom left)