Mount Arrowsmith
Mount Arrowsmith from Sproat Lake
Highest point
Elevation	1,819 m (5,968 ft)[1]
Prominence	1,429 m (4,688 ft)[1]
Listing	Mountains of British Columbia
Coordinates	49°13′25″N 124°35′40″W / 49.22361°N 124.59444°W / 49.22361; -124.59444[1]
Geography
Mount Arrowsmith Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
District	Cameron Land District
Parent range	Vancouver Island Ranges
Topo map	NTS 92F2 Alberni Inlet
Climbing
First ascent	John Macoun 1887
Easiest route	scramble

Mount Arrowsmith is the highest mountain east of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. Its dominant rock is basalt. The mountain is contained within the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region and as of September 18, 2009 is designated part of 1,300 ha (3,200 acres) hectare Mt. Arrowsmith Massif Regional Park.

History

The mountain is named kał-ka-č’ałḥ (Kulth-ka-choolth) meaning Jagged Points Facing Upward in the Tseshaht Nuu-chah-nulth languages.^{[2] [3]}

The first recorded ascent by colonists was made by botanist John Macoun in 1887. Macoun was a botanist to the Geological Survey of Canada. Mount Waddington was first seen from the peak of Mount Arrowsmith by Don and Phyllis Munday in 1925 (see also Mount Munday). The mountain was named about 1853 by Captain Richards for cartographers, Aaron Arrowsmith and his nephew John Arrowsmith.^[4][5]: 9

Biogeoclimatic Zones

Mount Arrowsmith has three main biogeoclimatic zones. On the windward, wetter west-facing slopes the Coastal Western Hemlock zone occurs up to 1,050 m (3,440 ft), where it grades into the Mountain Hemlock zone. This forms a continuous forest up to 1,300 m (4,270 ft); above is a parkland phase which grades into the Alpine Tundra zone at 1,600 m (5,250 ft). The leeward, east-facing slopes are warmer thanks to more sunshine, and all zone boundaries are higher by 50 m (160 ft).^[6]