Crowsnest Pass
| Crowsnest Pass | |
|---|---|
Crowsnest Lake, near the summit of the Crowsnest Pass, looking east toward Crowsnest Mountain.
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| Elevation | 1,358 m (4,455 ft) |
| Traversed by |
Crowsnest Highway Canadian Pacific Railway |
| Location | Crowsnest Pass, Alberta / Sparwood, British Columbia, Canada |
| Range | Canadian Rockies |
| Coordinates | 49°37′57″N 114°41′33″W / 49.63250°N 114.69250°WCoordinates: 49°37′57″N 114°41′33″W / 49.63250°N 114.69250°W |
Crowsnest Pass (sometimes referred to as Crow's Nest Pass, French: passe du Nid-de-Corbeau) is a low mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta–British Columbia border.
The pass is located in southeast British Columbia and southwest Alberta, and is the southernmost rail and highway route through the Canadian Rockies. It is the lowest-elevation mountain pass in Canada south of the Yellowhead Pass (1,130 m (3,710 ft)); the other major passes, which are higher, being Kicking Horse Pass (1,640 m (5,380 ft)), Howse Pass (1,530 m (5,020 ft)) and Vermilion Pass (1,680 m (5,510 ft)).
Crowsnest Pass comprises a valley running east–west through Crowsnest Ridge. On the Alberta side, the Crowsnest River flows east from Crowsnest Lake, eventually draining into the Oldman River and ultimately reaching Hudson Bay via the Nelson River. Summit Lake on the British Columbia side drains via three intermediary creeks into the Elk River, which feeds into the Kootenay River, and finally into the Columbia River to the Pacific.
In prehistoric times, aboriginals used this major breach through the Front Ranges for seasonal migrations, and also for trade between mountain and plains cultures. The first motor vehicle to cross the Canadian Rockies did so via Phillipps Pass, about 1 km north of Crowsnest Pass, and in 1917 a road was blasted around the shores of Crowsnest Lake and across Crowsnest Pass, renamed Interprovincial Highway Three in 1932. It is also known as the Crowsnest Highway.
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