Mount Breakenridge

Mount Breakenridge
Mount Breakenridge
Elevation	2,395 m (7,858 ft)
Prominence	325 m (1,066 ft)
Location
Location	British Columbia, Canada
Range	Lillooet Ranges
Coordinates	49°43′11″N 121°56′02″W / 49.71972°N 121.93389°W / 49.71972; -121.93389
Topo map	NTS 92H/12

Mount Breakenridge, 2,395 m (7,858 ft), is a mountain in the Lillooet Ranges of southwestern British Columbia, Canada, located on the east side of upper Harrison Lake in the angle of mountains formed by that lake and the Big Silver River.

Name

The name was conferred by Lieutenant Palmer RE for Archibald, T. Breakenridge RE, a member of his party, during a reconnaissance survey by the Royal Engineers from the north end of Harrison Lake to Four Mile House in the Douglas Road along the Lillooet River in 1859.

In Ucwalmícwts, the language of the Lower Lillooet people, the mountain's name is mólkwcen (no translation given), which is also the name of a fishing camp located near the mouth of Stokke Creek, a creek feeding Harrison Lake from its origins on the flank of Breakenridge.

Geology and tsunami hazard

Mount Breakenridge is the subject of intensive study by provincial government geologists due to the location of a fracture or shear zone on the mountainside above Harrison Lake. Researchers have identified the shear zone as a major risk for collapse into Harrison Lake, one of BC's largest and deepest, causing a large megatsunami that would impact the resort village of Harrison Hot Springs at the south end of the lake as well as smaller communities such as Port Douglas at the head of the lake and those along the Harrison River, which is the lake's outflow.^[1] The wave caused by a future slide may potentially impact the Fraser Valley and Whatcom County, Washington as well.

References

1. ^ Evans, S.G.; Savigny, K.W. (1994). "Landslides in the Vancouver-Fraser Valley-Whistler region". Geological Survey of Canada. Ministry of Forests, Province of British Columbia. pp. 36 p.. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/ffip/Evans_SG1994.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-28. 

External links

• "Mount Breakenridge". BC Geographical Names. http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/611.html. 
• "Mount Breakenridge". Bivouac.com. http://www.bivouac.com/MtnPg.asp?MtnId=1143.