Mount Logan | |
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Mount Logan from the southeast
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Highest point | |
Elevation | 5,959 m (19,551 ft) |
Prominence | 5,250 m (17,220 ft) |
Isolation | 624 kilometres (388 mi) |
Parent peak | Denali |
Listing | |
Coordinates | 60°34′02″N 140°24′10″W / 60.56722°N 140.40278°WCoordinates: 60°34′02″N 140°24′10″W / 60.56722°N 140.40278°W |
Geography | |
Location | Yukon, Canada |
Parent range | Saint Elias Mountains |
Topo map | NTS 115B |
Climbing | |
First ascent | 1925 by A.H. MacCarthy et al. |
Easiest route | glacier/snow/ice climb |
Mount Logan /ˈloʊɡən/ is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America, after Denali. The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist and founder of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). Mount Logan is located within Kluane National Park and Reserve in southwestern Yukon, less than 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of the Yukon/Alaska border. Mount Logan is the source of the Hubbard and Logan Glaciers. Logan is believed to have the largest base circumference of any non-volcanic mountain on Earth (a large number of shield volcanoes are much larger in size and mass), including a massif with eleven peaks over 5,000 metres (16,400 ft).
Due to active tectonic uplifting, Mount Logan is still rising in height. Before 1992, the exact elevation of Mount Logan was unknown and measurements ranged from 5,959 to 6,050 metres (19,551 to 19,849 ft). In May 1992, a GSC expedition climbed Mount Logan and fixed the current height of 5,959 metres (19,551 ft) using GPS.
Temperatures are extremely low on and near Mount Logan. On the 5,000 m high plateau, air temperature hovers around −45 °C (−49 °F) in the winter and reaches near freezing in summer with the median temperature for the year around −27 °C (−17 °F). Minimal snow melt leads to a significant ice cap, reaching almost 300 m (984 ft) in certain spots.