Saint Elias Mountains

Coordinates: 60°30′N 139°30′W / 60.500°N 139.500°W / 60.500; -139.500
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Saint Elias Mountains
Mt. Saint Elias
Highest point
PeakMount Logan
Elevation5,959 m (19,551 ft)[1]
ListingList of mountain ranges
Coordinates60°34′02″N 140°24′19″W / 60.56722°N 140.40528°W / 60.56722; -140.40528[2]
Dimensions
Length300 mi (480 km)
Width90 mi (140 km)
Area112,509 km2 (43,440 sq mi)
Geography
Saint Elias Mountains, east of the Wrangell Mountains
CountriesUnited States and Canada
ProvincesYukon and British Columbia
StateAlaska
Range coordinates60°30′N 139°30′W / 60.500°N 139.500°W / 60.500; -139.500
Parent rangePacific Coast Ranges
Borders onWrangell Mountains

The Saint Elias Mountains (

Valdez-Cordova census areas.[3]

This mountain range is named after Mount Saint Elias, which in turn was named in 1741 by the Danish explorer Vitus Bering.[4]

Geology

The St. Elias Mountains form the highest coastal mountain range on Earth. It formed due to the

Fairweather Fault, which probably started more than 35 million years ago.[7] Due to its thickness, the Yakutat plate is buoyant, resulting in surface uplift of the overriding North American plate, which formed the Talkeetna Mountains and the Alaska Range in Southcentral Alaska, located above the subducted part of the Yakutat plate.[7]

Yakutat Icefield – an expanse of ice in southeast Alaska – in 2018.

The St. Elias Mountains formed at the plate boundary between the Yakutat and North American plates. The up-to-12-kilometre (7.5 mi)-thick sediments that have been deposited on top of the Yakutat plate became imbricated and deformed as they were scraped off and compose today the southern (coastal) flanks of the St. Elias Mountains. In contrast the high elevated regions of the drainage divide (Bagley Icefield, Seward Glacier) and north of it are composed of rocks that are part of the North American plate.[8] The highest peaks of the St. Elias Mountains are located in the high ice field region of the

Fairweather Fault to collision west of Malaspina Strait. This tectonic transition concentrates stress in the crust at the syntaxis that together with efficient glacial erosion results in positive feedback processes that through time forms extreme high mountain peaks and local relief, and rapid exhumation of rocks from up to 10 km (6.2 mi) depths to the surface.[9]

Ranges

The mountains are divided by the Duke Depression, with the shorter, more rounded Kluane Ranges to the east, and the higher Icefield Ranges to the west. Sub-ranges of the Saint Elias include the Alsek Ranges, the Fairweather Range, and the Centennial Range.[10]

Highest mountains

The highest mountains of the range include:

Mountain Height Location Notes
m ft
Mount Logan 5,959 19,551 Yukon Highest mountain in Canada
Mount Saint Elias 5,489 18,008 Alaska-Yukon Second highest in both Canada and the United States
Mount Lucania 5,226 17,147 Yukon #3 in Canada
King Peak 5,173 16,971 Yukon #4 in Canada
Mount Steele 5,073 16,644 Yukon #5 in Canada
Mount Bona 5,005 16,421 Alaska #5 in the United States
Mount Wood 4,842 15,885 Yukon #7 in Canada
Mount Vancouver 4,812 15,787 Yukon #15 in North America
Mount Churchill 4,766 15,638 Alaska 4th highest volcano in the United States
Mount Slaggard 4,742 15,557 Yukon #10 in Canada
Mount Macaulay 4,690 15,387 Yukon
Mount Fairweather 4,671 15,325 Alaska-British Columbia #1 in British Columbia[11]
Mount Hubbard 4,577 15,015 Alaska-Yukon #8 in United States, #12 in Canada
Mount Bear 4,520 14,831 Alaska #18 in United States
Mount Walsh 4,507 14,787 Yukon
Mount Alverstone 4,439 14,565 Alaska-Yukon
University Peak 4,410 14,470 Alaska
McArthur Peak 4,389 14,400 Yukon
Mount Augusta 4,289 14,070 Alaska-Yukon
Mount Kennedy 4,250–4300 ~14,000 Yukon
Mount Cook 4,196 13,766 Alaska-Yukon

Image

3D rendered panorama of the Saint Elias Mountains and Malaspina Glacier

References

  1. ^ "Topographic map of Mount Logan". opentopomap.org. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  2. ^ "Mount Logan". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  3. ^ "Saint Elias Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  4. ^ "Saint. Elias Mountains". BC Geographical Names. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  5. doi:10.1130/G31170.1
    .
  6. doi:10.1029/2009JB007139
    .
  7. ^
    doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2011.01.014
    .
  8. ^ Plafker, G.; Berg, H.C., eds. (1994). The Geology of Alaska. Boulder: Geological Society of America. pp. 389–449. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  9. doi:10.1038/NGEO502
    .
  10. ^ "Saint Elias Mountains". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  11. ^ Mount Fairweather is only partly in British Columbia. The highest peak entirely within British Columbia is Mount Waddington in the Coast Range, 4019 m (13186 ft).
Sources
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