Major Northern Mountain Ranges of North America

Continent-Spanning Cordilleras

North America's "Backbone" is the American Cordillera—a continuous sequence of ranges from Alaska to Mexico. The major northern systems:

1. Brooks Range (Alaska)

• Northernmost range in North America. 1,100 km (700 mi) east-west across Arctic Alaska.
• Peaks: Mount Isto (2,736 m / 8,976 ft), Mount Hubley.
• Arctic tundra, caribou migration (Porcupine herd), Gates of the Arctic NP.

2. Alaska Range (Southcentral Alaska)

• Denali (6,190 m / 20,310 ft) — highest in North America.
• Massive glaciation, Denali National Park.

3. Coast Mountains (BC / Alaska / Washington)

• Coastal plutonic complex. Mount Waddington (4,019 m / 13,186 ft) highest.
• Deep fjords, massive icefields (Juneau, Stikine), temperate rainforest.

4. Rocky Mountains (Canada → USA → Mexico)

• Canadian Rockies: Mount Robson (3,954 m), Columbia Icefield, Banff/Jasper/Yoho/Kootenay NPs.
• US Northern Rockies: Glacier NP (MT), Yellowstone/Grand Teton (WY), Wind River (WY), Beartooth (MT/WY).
• Southern Rockies: Colorado 54 "Fourteeners" (Elbert 4,401 m), Sangre de Cristo, San Juans.

5. Cascade Range (BC → WA → OR → N. CA)

• Volcanic arc: Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier (4,392 m), Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, Mount Hood, Mount Shasta, Lassen Peak.
• High precipitation, glaciers, temperate rainforest west; dry east.

6. Sierra Nevada (Eastern California)

• Tilted fault block. Mount Whitney (4,421 m / 14,505 ft) — highest contiguous US.
• Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon NPs. Giant sequoias. Lake Tahoe basin.

7. Columbia Mountains / Selkirks (SE BC / N. ID / WA / MT)

• Purcells, Selkirks, Monashees, Cariboo. Interior wet belt. Mount Sir Sandford (3,519 m).
• Inland temperate rainforest, deep powder skiing (Revelstoke).

8. Appalachian Mountains (Eastern US → Canada)

• Ancient, eroded. Northern terminus: Chic-Chocs (QC), Long Range (NL), White Mountains (NH) — Mount Washington (1,917 m) highest in NE US.
• Not "northern" in continental sense but extend far north.

9. Arctic Cordillera (NE Canada / Greenland)

• Baffin, Ellesmere, Devon Islands. Barbeau Peak (2,616 m) — highest east of Rockies.
• Polar desert, nunataks, ice caps.