Valley of the Ten Peaks
The reflections of some of the Ten Peaks on Moraine Lake.
Valley of the Ten Peaks is located in Alberta
Valley of the Ten Peaks
Geography
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
Borders onWenkchemna Peaks
Coordinates51°20′58″N 116°09′35″W / 51.34944°N 116.15972°W / 51.34944; -116.15972 [1]
Topo mapNTS 82N8 Lake Louise[1]
Traversed byMoraine Lake Road, Larch Valley Trail
RiverMoraine Creek

Valley of the Ten Peaks (French: Vallée des Dix Pics) is a valley in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, which is crowned by ten notable peaks and also includes Moraine Lake. The valley can be reached by following the Moraine Lake road near Lake Louise. The ten peaks were originally named by Samuel Allen, an early explorer of the region, who simply referred to them by using the numerals from one to ten in the Stoney First Nations Language. He may have learned the terms from his Native American guides, who helped him with the horses. The Nakoda–also known as the Stoney Indians–is a tribe whose culture and dialect are closely related to that of the Assiniboine First Nation, from whom they are believed to have separated in the mid-1700s, and who roamed large parts of the prairies and mountains of western Alberta well into British Columbia. The secluded Valley of the Ten Peaks was part of their original homeland. Gradually, though, all but three of the mountains were renamed in honour of noteworthy individuals, including Allen himself.

Mount Hungabee was not included in the original peak list by Allen, even though it is higher than Wenkchemna Peak, the latter of which is really an extension of Hungabee.[2]

Peaks

Map this section's coordinates using: OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as: KML GPX (all coordinates) GPX (primary coordinates) GPX (secondary coordinates)

The ten peaks, in order of how they are numbered from east to west, are:

# Name Elevation Prominence FA Coordinates
m ft m ft
1 Mount Fay 3,235 10,614 1,544 5,066 1904 51°17'58"N, 116°9'43"W
2 Mount Little 3,088 10,131 164 538 1901 51°17'45"N, 116°10'58"W
3 Mount Bowlen 3,206 10,518 170 560 1901 51°18'6"N, 116°11'20"W
4 Tonsa 3,053 10,016 173 568   51°17'51"N, 116°12'0"W
5 Mount Perren 3,051 10,010 113 371 1927 51°17'47"N, 116°12'32"W
6 Mount Allen 3,310 10,860 260 850 1904 51°17'30"N, 116°13'16"W
7 Mount Tuzo 3,246 10,650 210 690 1906 51°18'6"N, 116°13'42"W
8 Deltaform Mountain 3,424 11,234 822 2,697 1903 51°18'6"N, 116°14'43"W
9 Neptuak Mountain 3,233 10,607 151 495 1902 51°18'28"N, 116°15'29"W
10 Wenkchemna Peak 3,170 10,400 16 52 1923 51°19'43"N, 116°16'35"W

There are other peaks visible from within the valley as well, including Mount Temple, Mount Babel and Eiffel Peak. Fay Glacier is developed between Mount Babel, Mount Fay, Mount Little and Mount Bowlen.

The Valley of the Ten Peaks was featured on the reverse side of the 1969 and 1979 issues of the Canadian twenty dollar bill;[3] see Scenes of Canada § $20 note.

The Neil Colgan Hut, a mountaineering destination and the highest permanent structure in Canada, can be reached in 8 to 12 hours of climbing the Perren Route from Moraine Lake.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Valley of the Ten Peaks". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  2. ^ "Ten Peaks Range". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  3. ^ "1969-1979 Canadian $20 Bank note featuring Moraine Lake". Bank of Canada. Archived from the original on 2006-12-22. Retrieved 2006-10-01.
  4. ^ "Perren Route". summitpost.org. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
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