The Nikanassin Range s a group of mountain range

Mountain range

A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...

s 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...

 on the eastern edge of Jasper National Park

Jasper National Park

Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, spanning 10,878 km² . It is located in the province of Alberta, north of Banff National Park and west of the City of Edmonton. The park includes the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield, hot springs, lakes, waterfalls and...

 in Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is developed south-east of the Fiddle Range

Fiddle Range

The Fiddle Range is a mountain range of the Canadian Rockies located south of Highway 16 on the east border of Jasper National Park, Canada.This range includes the following mountains and peaks:...

, and one of the front ranges. Nikanassin means "first range" in Cree

Cree language

Cree is an Algonquian language spoken by approximately 117,000 people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Labrador, making it the aboriginal language with the highest number of speakers in Canada. It is also spoken in the U.S. state of Montana...

.

The range has an extent of 2760 square kilometres (1,065.6 sq mi), with a lenghth of 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) from north-west to south-east, and a width of 66 kilometres (41 mi). Its highest point is Climax Mountain, with a height of 2823 metres (9,261.8 ft).

Numerous seams of coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 are found in this range, with past and present mines at Cadomin, Mountain Park

Mountain Park, Alberta

Mountain Park is a ghost town in western Alberta, south of Cadomin, at the end of the historic 'Coal Branch' line of the Canadian National Railway, formerly known as the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway....

 and Luscar

Luscar, Alberta

Luscar was at one time a coal mining town in Alberta, Canada. It is situated about northwest of Cadomin along the Bighorn Highway , at the end of the CN Railway line....

.

The range gives the name to the Nikanassin Formation

Nikanassin Formation

The Nikanassin Formation is a stratigraphical unit of late Jurassic age. It is part of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and is found in western Alberta, Canada....

, a stratigraphical

Stratigraphy

Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....

 unit of late Jurassic

Jurassic

The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to  Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...

 age that has its stratotype in this region.

Peaks

Mountain	metres	feet
Climax Mountain	2823	9262
Deception Mountain	2819	9249
Mount Lindsay	2743	8999
Mount Bryant	2621	8599
Overturn Mountain	2560	8399