Mount Mercer (Alberta)
Mountain in Alberta, Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mount Mercer is a 2,970-metre (9,744-foot) mountain summit located in Alberta, Canada.
| Mount Mercer | |
|---|---|
South aspect of Mount Mercer (centre) | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,970 m (9,740 ft)[1][2][3] |
| Prominence | 295 m (968 ft)[1] |
| Parent peak | Beersheba Peak (3,054 m)[1] |
| Isolation | 1.93 km (1.20 mi)[1] |
| Listing | Mountains of Alberta |
| Coordinates | 50°55′24″N 115°31′13″W[4] |
| Naming | |
| Etymology | Malcolm Mercer |
| Geography | |
  Mount Mercer Location within Alberta  Mount Mercer Location within Canada | |
 | |
| Interactive map of Mount Mercer | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Alberta |
Protected area | Banff National Park |
| Parent range | Sundance Range Canadian Rockies |
| Topo map | NTS 82J13 Mount Assiniboine[4] |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | Cambrian |
| Fault block | |
| Rock type | Limestone |
Geography
Mount Mercer is set within Banff National Park, three kilometres east of the Continental Divide, and is situated near the southern end of the Sundance Range,[4] which is a sub-range of the Canadian Rockies. Located four kilometres east of Assiniboine Pass,[2] Mount Mercer is a remote peak which is not visible from any road. Mount Mercer's nearest higher neighbor is Mount Allenby, 1.9 km (1.2 mi) to the north-northwest, and Mount Assiniboine is 10 km (6.2 mi) to the southwest.[1] Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into Mercer and Bryant creeks which empty to the nearby Spray Lakes Reservoir. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 1,130 m (3,710 ft) above Bryant Creek Valley in less than 2 km (1.2 mi).
Geology
Mount Mercer is composed of limestone which is a sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods.[5] Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.[6]
Climate
Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Mercer is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[7] Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C.
Etymology
Mount Mercer is named in remembrance of Major-General Malcolm Mercer (1859–1916), a Canadian general who led the 3rd Canadian Division during the First World War before he was killed in action at Mount Sorrel in Belgium on June 2, 1916.[3][8] He was the highest ranking Canadian killed in the war. The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1924 by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.[4]
Gallery
Mount Mercer, south aspect
Malcolm Mercer
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