Tunnel Mountain

Tunnel Mountain
Iinii Istako (Blackfoot Eyarhey Tatanga Woweyahgey Wakân (Stoney Nakoda)
Tunnel Mountain and Banff townsite, seen from Sulphur Mountain
Highest point
Elevation	1,692 m (5,551 ft)
Prominence	305 m (1,001 ft)
Coordinates	51°10′41.54″N 115°33′19.8″W / 51.1782056°N 115.555500°W / 51.1782056; -115.555500
Geography
Location	Alberta, Canada
Parent range	South Banff Ranges, Canadian Rockies
Topo map	NTS 82O/04

Tunnel Mountain (also known as also known as Sleeping Buffalo, Iinii Istako, Eyarhey Tatanga Woweyahgey Wakân, is a mountain located in the Bow River Valley of Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. The mountain is nearly completely encircled by the town of Banff and the Banff Springs Hotel grounds.

The Blackfoot name for the mountain is Iinii Istako and the Stoney Nakoda language name is Eyarhey Tatanga Woweyahgey Wakân. The Stoney people called it "Sleeping Buffalo", as it resembles a sleeping buffalo when viewed from the north and east. In 1858, James Hector named the small peak "The Hill", likely in reference to its status as the smallest peak adjacent to the Banff townsite. In the 1880s Canadian Pacific Railway surveyors had first considered blasting a tunnel through the mountain for the tracks through the Bow Valley. Even though they discovered another route for the train and the tunnel idea was abandoned, the name Tunnel Mountain stuck. In September 2016, fifteen First Nations signed a resolution calling for the beginning of an official process with the Natural Resources Canada's Geographical Names Board of Canada to rename Tunnel Mountain, Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain. At their November 2017 "Indigenous Leaders’ Dialogue" in Banff, representatives granted the name, Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain ceremonially as they await the decision of the NRC.

The fire lookout on top of the mountain began to be known as "King's Lookout," following a Royal Tour in 1939 when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth climbed to the lookout.