Mount Royal Park
| Mount Royal | |
|---|---|
Mount Royal's eastern slope
|
|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 233 m (764 ft) |
| Coordinates | 45°30′23″N 73°35′20″W / 45.50639°N 73.58889°WCoordinates: 45°30′23″N 73°35′20″W / 45.50639°N 73.58889°W |
| Geography | |
| Parent range | Monteregian Hills |
| Topo map | NTS 31H |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | Early Cretaceous |
| Mountain type | Intrusive |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | Jacques Cartier, 1535 (First European) |
| Easiest route | Hiking or Cycling |
| Mount Royal | |
|---|---|
| Type | Municipal |
| Location |
 Montreal
|
| Coordinates | 45°30′23″N 73°35′20″W / 45.50639°N 73.58889°W |
| Area | 280 ha (692 acres) |
| Created | 1876 |
| Operated by | City of Montreal |
| Status | Open all year |
Mount Royal (French: mont Royal, IPA: [mɔ̃ ʁwajal]) is a large volcanic-related hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of downtown Montreal, Quebec (in Canada), the city to which it gave its name.
The hill is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachian Mountains. It gave its Latin name, Mons Regius, to the Monteregian chain.
The hill consists of three peaks: Colline de la Croix (or Mont Royal proper) at 233 m (764 ft), Colline d'Outremont (or Mount Murray, in the borough of Outremont) at 211 m (692 ft), and Westmount Summit at 201 m (659 ft) elevation above mean sea level.
Some tourist guidebooks, such as the Michelin Guide to Montreal, state that Mount Royal is an extinct volcano. The mountain is the deep extension of a vastly eroded ancient volcanic complex, which was probably active about 125 million years ago. The mountain was created when the North American Plate moved westward over the New England hotspot, along with the other mountains of the Monteregian Hills, by a process known as intrusion: The magma intruded into the sedimentary rocks underneath the area, producing at least eight igneous stocks. The main rock type is a gabbro composed of pyroxene, olivine and variable amounts of plagioclase. During and after the main stage of intrusion, the gabbros and surrounding rocks were intruded by a series of volcanic dikes and sills. Subsequently, the surrounding softer sedimentary rock was eroded, leaving behind the resistant igneous rock that forms the mountain.
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Wikipedia