Canadian Rockies: Provinces and Territories the Range Crosses

Canada has provinces and territories, not states. The Canadian Rockies traverse three jurisdictions:

1. British Columbia (Western Flank)

• Major ranges: Purcell, Selkirk, Monashee, Cariboo, Rocky Mountain Trench (western boundary)
• Key parks: Yoho, Kootenay, Mount Robson, Mount Assiniboine, Hamber
• Highest BC peak: Mount Robson (3,954 m / 12,972 ft)
• Major rivers sourced: Columbia, Fraser (headwaters), Kootenay

2. Alberta (Eastern Flank & Front Ranges)

• Major ranges: Front Ranges, Main Ranges, Foothills
• Key parks: Banff, Jasper, Waterton Lakes, Willmore Wilderness
• Highest AB peak: Mount Columbia (3,747 m / 12,293 ft) — on BC border
• Iconic peaks: Mount Rundle, Cascade Mountain, Mount Temple, Athabasca Glacier (Columbia Icefield)

3. Yukon Territory (Northern Extension)

• Range: Northern Rocky Mountains (distinct from main Canadian Rockies)
• Key areas: Ivvavik, Vuntut, Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk
• Character: Lower elevation, tundra, permafrost, Porcupine caribou herd
• Highest YT peak in Rockies: Mount Goodenough (2,930 m / 9,613 ft) — Mackenzie Mountains

What's NOT Included

• Northwest Territories: Mackenzie Mountains (separate range)
• US Rockies: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico (continuation of same orogeny)

Geologic Unity

All three jurisdictions share the Laramide Orogeny (80–55 Ma) origin: thrust-faulted sedimentary layers (limestone, shale, sandstone) stacked like shuffled cards. The Continental Divide follows the range crest, directing waters to Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic (via Hudson Bay).

Banff (1885) was Canada's first national park, created specifically to protect the Rockies' hot springs and scenery—now a UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning four parks across BC and Alberta.