Mount Brown (British Columbia)
Encyclopedia
Mount Brown is a massif
in the Canadian Rockies
, located to the west of the Athabasca Pass
. It was first ascended in 1827 by the naturalist David Douglas
, who then wrote that its "height does not seem to be less than 16,000 or 17,000 feet above the level of the sea". This over-estimation of the altitude was widely accepted at the time leading to the false notion that it was the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains
. Douglas named the peak for Robert Brown
, the first keeper at the British Museum's botanical gardens.
The southern branch of the Fraser River
originates near this mountain.
Massif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...
in the Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
, located to the west of the Athabasca Pass
Athabasca Pass
Athabasca Pass is a high mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies. It is the headwaters of the Whirlpool River, a tributary of the Athabasca River.The pass lies between Mount Brown and McGillivray Ridge...
. It was first ascended in 1827 by the naturalist David Douglas
David Douglas
David Douglas was a Scottish botanist. He worked as a gardener, and explored the Scottish Highlands, North America, and Hawaii, where he died.-Early life:...
, who then wrote that its "height does not seem to be less than 16,000 or 17,000 feet above the level of the sea". This over-estimation of the altitude was widely accepted at the time leading to the false notion that it was the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. Douglas named the peak for Robert Brown
Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
, the first keeper at the British Museum's botanical gardens.
The southern branch of the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
originates near this mountain.