| Crowsnest Pass | |
|---|---|
 Crowsnest Lake, Crowsnest Pass |
|
| Elevation | 1,358 metres (4,455 ft) |
| Location |  Alberta/ British Columbia,  Canada |
| Range | Canadian Rockies |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Traversed by | Crowsnest Highway Canadian Pacific Railway |
- For the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, please see Crowsnest Pass, Alberta
Crowsnest Pass (sometimes referred to as Crow's Nest Pass) (el. In topography a summit is a point on a surface which is higher in Elevation than all points immediately adjacent to Alberta (ælˈbɝtə is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1 1905 British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page A mountain range is a chain of Mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. The Crowsnest Highway, also known as the Interprovincial or in British Columbia the Southern Trans-Provincial, is a 1163 km (722 mile long principal The Canadian Pacific Railway ( The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is a Special Municipality geographically located in the Crowsnest Pass of the 1,358 m. ) is a high mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta/British Columbia border. In a range of hills or especially of mountains, a pass (also gap, notch, col, saddle, bwlch, A continental divide is a line of elevated Terrain which forms a border between two watersheds such that Water falling on one side of the line eventually The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. Alberta (ælˈbɝtə is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1 1905 British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C
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Geography
The pass is located in southeast British Columbia and southwest Alberta, and is the southernmost rail and highway route through the Canadian Rockies and the lowest elevation mountain pass in Canada south of the Yellowhead Pass (1,130 m); the other major passes, which are higher, being Kicking Horse Pass (1,640 m), Howse Pass (1,530 m) and Vermillion Pass. The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. Yellowhead Pass (el 1110 m is a Mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies. Kicking Horse Pass (el 1627 m 5339 ft is a high Mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta / British Howse Pass (el 1539 m is a pass through the Rocky Mountains.The pass was used by First Nations people such as the Kootenay and Piegan
Crowsnest Pass comprises a valley running east-west through Crowsnest Ridge. The Crowsnest River flows east from Crowsnest Lake, eventually draining into the Oldman River on the Alberta side. The Oldman River is a River in Southern Alberta, Canada. It flows roughly west to east from the Rocky Mountains, through the communities of Summit Lake on the British Columbia side drains into the Elk River, which eventually feeds into the Kootenai and Kootenay Rivers, and finally into the Columbia River. The Kootenay River (spelled Kootenai River for its American portions is the uppermost major tributary of the Columbia River, flowing through British Columbia The Kootenay River (spelled Kootenai River for its American portions is the uppermost major tributary of the Columbia River, flowing through British Columbia The Columbia River (known as There is also the Powder Keg, a small ski resort
Transportation
The Canadian Pacific Railway built a line from Lethbridge, Alberta to Nelson, British Columbia through the Crowsnest Pass, opening in 1897. The " Crow Rate " or " Crow's Nest Freight Rate " was a Subsidy offered to the Canadian Pacific Railway ("CPR" by the Canadian The Canadian Pacific Railway ( Lethbridge (ˈlɛθbrɨdʒ is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada and the largest city in Southern Alberta. This page is about the city of Nelson British Columbia For the provincial electoral districts Nelson (electoral district, Nelson City, Nelson-Creston This line was built to develop coal deposits in the Elk River valley and help to assert Canadian (and CPR) sovereignty in an area that U. S. railroads were beginning to build into. CPR sought and received construction funding from the federal government, subject to a freight subsidy arrangement for prairie farm exports which came to be called the "Crow's Nest Pass Agreement".
"The Crow Rate", as the subsidy agreement came to be referred to, was eventually extended from CPR's Crownest Pass railway line to apply to all railway lines in western Canada, regardless of corporate ownership or geography, creating artificially low freight rates for grain shipments through the Great Lakes ports. The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border. The rate also correspondingly limited industrial growth in the western provinces as it was cheaper to produce items in eastern Canada and ship them west under The Crow Rate. This subsidy was finally abolished in 1995.
The Crowsnest Highway operates as Highway 3 in both provinces and runs through the pass parallel to the CPR line, as does an oil pipeline. The Crowsnest Highway, also known as the Interprovincial or in British Columbia the Southern Trans-Provincial, is a 1163 km (722 mile long principal
Natural resources
The Crowsnest Pass area on both sides of the provincial boundary is rich in coal deposits, which were quickly developed after completion of the rail line. All of the mines on the Alberta side were closed throughout the 20th century as cheaper and safer open-pit mines opened on the British Columbia side of the pass. Some logging and oil and gas exploitation also occurs in the area, and a sulphur plant has been in operation there for several years. Tourism based on the natural and historical resources of the area remains underdeveloped.
History
- Crowsnest Pass is the richest archaeological zone in the Canadian Rockies. The oldest relics are stone tools found on a rock ridge outside Frank, Alberta from the Clovis culture, 11,000 years bp. Frank is a small community in the Crowsnest Pass at the southern end of the Canadian Rockies, and lies within the province of Alberta, Canada Other sites include chert quarries on the Livingstone ridge dating back to 1000 BC.
- 1800 - Members of David Thompson expedition enter the pass.
- ca. 1850 - Crow Indians dispersed from area by Blackfoot Confederacy.
- 1860, 1873 - Michael Phillips (Hudson Bay Company) traverses pass, reports coal deposits.
- 1881 - first surveys by Canadian Pacific Railway.
- 1897 - CPR enters into farm export subsidy agreement for freight rates in exchange for financing of railway line between Lethbridge, AB and Nelson, BC. Crow's Nest Pass Coal Company commences operations in British Columbia.
- 1898 - CPR opens the railway line, 10th siding (later Blairmore, Alberta) established. Blairmore (population 4695 is a town in the Crowsnest Pass of the Rocky Mountains of southern Alberta, Canada Settlement of Fernie, British Columbia established. Fernie is a city in the Elk Valley area of the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on BC Highway
- 1900 - the Frank Mine opens and the new town of Frank, Alberta is established. Frank is a small community in the Crowsnest Pass at the southern end of the Canadian Rockies, and lies within the province of Alberta, Canada Other coal mines and towns spring up between 1900 - 1919.
- 1902 - explosion at Coal Creek mine kills 128 men.
- 1903 - the cataclysmic Frank Slide occurs on the north slope of Turtle Mountain; 82 million tonnes of limestone crash down and partially bury the town of Frank, killing approximately 70 of the town's 600 residents. The Frank Slide is a natural Landslide feature in the southern Rocky Mountains of Canada, and a significant historical event in western Canada
- 1904 - Fernie, British Columbia incorporates. Fernie is a city in the Elk Valley area of the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on BC Highway
- 1908 - forest fire destroys Fernie (pop: 6000), which soon rebuilds.
- 1914 - an explosion in the mine at Hillcrest killed 189 men, Canada's worst mine disaster. Hillcrest, also known as Hillcrest Mines, is a quiet hamlet in the Crowsnest Pass of the Rocky Mountains of southern Alberta, The Hillcrest mine disaster, the worst coal mining disaster in Canadian history occurred at Hillcrest Alberta, in the Crowsnest Pass region of western Canada on
- 1916 - 1923 - Prohibition in Alberta; "rum-running" across the provincial boundary. Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as Noble Experiment, refers to a Sumptuary law which prohibits Alcohol
- 1920 - Train robbery and shootout at Bellevue Cafe. Bellevue (population 343 is a small community in the Crowsnest Pass of the Rocky Mountains of southern Alberta, Canada
- 1923 - 'Emperor Pic’ and Florence Lossandro hung for shooting a police constable; first woman hung in Alberta.
- 1932 - Highway 3 built as a Great Depression project.
- 1966 - Communities of Michel, Natal, and Sparwood amalgamate into the District Municipality of Sparwood, British Columbia. Sparwood is a District municipality in British Columbia, Canada.
- 1979 - Communities of Coleman, Blairmore, Bellevue, Hillcrest, and Frank amalgamate to form the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. Coleman is a scenic town of about 2000 people located in the Crowsnest Pass in the Rocky Mountains of southern Alberta near the border Blairmore (population 4695 is a town in the Crowsnest Pass of the Rocky Mountains of southern Alberta, Canada Bellevue (population 343 is a small community in the Crowsnest Pass of the Rocky Mountains of southern Alberta, Canada Hillcrest, also known as Hillcrest Mines, is a quiet hamlet in the Crowsnest Pass of the Rocky Mountains of southern Alberta, Frank is a small community in the Crowsnest Pass at the southern end of the Canadian Rockies, and lies within the province of Alberta, Canada The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is a Special Municipality geographically located in the Crowsnest Pass of the
References
Crowsnest and its People Crowsnest Pass Historical Society, 1979.
External links
- Official Website of The Municipality of The Crowsnest Pass
- Pass History
- Pass Timeline
- Crowsnest Railway Route
- Frank Slide Interpretive Centre
- Crowsnest Pass
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