The Purcell Mountains are a 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...

 in southeastern British Columbia, Canada

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains

Columbia Mountains

The Columbia Mountains are a group of mountain ranges located in southeastern British Columbia, and partially in Montana, Idaho and Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km² . The range is bounded by the Rocky Mountain Trench on the east, and the Kootenay River on the south; their...

, which includes the Selkirk

Selkirk Mountains

The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia. They begin at Mica Peak near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and extend approximately 320 km north from the border. The range is bounded on its west,...

, Monashee

Monashee Mountains

The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch from north to south and from east to west. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains...

, and Cariboo Mountains

Cariboo Mountains

The Cariboo Mountains are the northernmost subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which run down into the Spokane, Washington area of the United States and include the Selkirks, Monashees and Purcells. The Cariboo Mountains are entirely within the province of British Columbia, Canada. The range is...

. They are located on the west side of the Rocky Mountain Trench

Rocky Mountain Trench

The Rocky Mountain Trench, or the Trench or The Valley of a Thousand Peaks, is a large valley in the northern part of the Rocky Mountains. It is both visually and cartographically a striking physiographic feature extending approximately from Flathead Lake, Montana, to the Liard River, just south...

 in the area of the Columbia Valley

Columbia Valley

The Columbia Valley is the name used for a region in the Rocky Mountain Trench near the headwaters of the Columbia River between the town of Golden and the Canal Flats. The main hub of the valley is the town of Invermere. Other towns include Radium Hot Springs, Windermere and Fairmont Hot Springs...

, and on the east side of the valley of Kootenay Lake

Kootenay Lake

Kootenay Lake is a lake located in British Columbia, Canada and is part of theKootenay River. The lake has been raised by the Corra Linn Dam and has a dike system at the southern end, which, along with industry in the 1950s-70s, has changed the ecosystem in and around the water...

 and the Duncan River

Duncan River

The Duncan River is a long river in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its drainage basin is in area. It is part of the Columbia River basin, being tributary via Kootenay Lake to the Kootenay River, which is a tributary of the Columbia River...

. The only large settlement in the mountains is the Panorama Ski Resort

Panorama Ski Resort

Panorama Mountain Village is a ski and golf resort located in the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Part of the Columbia Valley sub-region of the East Kootenay region, it is a popular tourist destination known for its rolling cliffs and spectacular view of the Rocky Mountains...

, though there are small settlements, such as Yahk

Yahk, British Columbia

Yahk is an unincorporated hamlet in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. Yahk Provincial Park borders the village to the south. Yahk is located on the Moyie River.CBC Television talk show The Hour taped a live episode in Yahk on February 9, 2006...

 and Moyie along the Crowsnest Highway

Crowsnest Highway

The Crowsnest Highway, also known as the Interprovincial or, in British Columbia, the Southern Trans-Provincial, is an east-west highway, in length, through the southern parts of British Columbia and Alberta, providing the shortest highway connection between British Columbia's Lower Mainland and...

, and residential rural areas dependent on the cities of Creston

Creston, British Columbia

Creston is a town of 4,826 people in the Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada. The town is located just a few kilometers north of the Porthill, Idaho border crossing into the United States and about a three-hour drive north from Spokane, Washington. It is about a one-hour drive...

, Kimberley

Kimberley, British Columbia

Kimberley is a small city in southeast British Columbia, Canada along Highway 95A between the Purcell and Rocky Mountains. Kimberley was named in 1896 after the Kimberley mine in South Africa. From 1917 to 2001, it was the home to the world's largest lead-zinc mine, the Sullivan Mine...

 and Cranbrook

Cranbrook, British Columbia

Cranbrook, British Columbia is a city in southeast British Columbia, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary's River, It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the East Kootenay. As of 2006, Cranbrook's population is 18,267, and the...

, which are located adjacent to the range.

The Purcells are shown on some United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 maps as the Percell Mountains, where their southern limit protrudes into the states of Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

 and Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

, abutting Lake Koocanusa

Lake Koocanusa

Lake Koocanusa is a reservoir in British Columbia and Montana formed by the damming of the Kootenai River by the Libby Dam in 1975....

, a reservoir on the Kootenai River. American geographic classifications consider the Percells to be part of 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...

 but in Canada that terminology is reserved for ranges on the east side of the Rocky Mountain Trench

Rocky Mountain Trench

The Rocky Mountain Trench, or the Trench or The Valley of a Thousand Peaks, is a large valley in the northern part of the Rocky Mountains. It is both visually and cartographically a striking physiographic feature extending approximately from Flathead Lake, Montana, to the Liard River, just south...

. In the Purcell Mountains, most of the peaks are near or above 10,000 feet in elevation.

The movies Alaska

Alaska (film)

Alaska is a 1996 action-adventure film that centers on two children who search through the Alaskan wilderness for their lost father. During their journey they find a polar bear that helps lead them to their father...

(1996) and Alive (1993) were filmed in Vancouver and the Purcell Mountains.

Sub-ranges

• Carbonate Range
• Dogtooth Range
• Farnham Group
  Farnham Group
  The Farnham Group is a sub-range of the Purcell Mountains, containing the highest summit of that range, Mount Farnham....
  
  
• MacBeth Group
• McGillivary Range
• Moyie Range
• Septet Range
• Spillimacheen Range
• Starbird Ridge
• Stockdale Group
• Toby Glacier
  Toby Glacier
  Toby Glacier is a section of the Purcell Mountains. It covers and area of . Its main drainage basin is Toby Creek....
  
  
• Truce Group
• Yahk Range