Saint Elias Mountains

Saint Elias Mountains
Mt. Saint Elias
Highest point
Peak	Mount Logan
Elevation	5,959 m (19,551 ft)
Coordinates	60°34′02″N 140°24′10″W
Dimensions
Length	300 mi (480 km)
Width	90 mi (140 km)
Area	112,509 km2 (43,440 sq mi)
Geography
Saint Elias Mountains, east of the Wrangell Mountains
Countries	United States and Canada
States/Provinces	Alaska, Yukon and British Columbia
Range coordinates	60°30′N 139°30′W
Parent range	Pacific Coast Ranges
Borders on	Wrangell Mountains

The Saint Elias Mountains are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in southeastern Alaska in the United States, southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia in Canada. The range spans Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in the USA and Kluane National Park and Reserve in Canada and includes all of Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. In Alaska, the range includes parts of the city/borough of Yakutat and the Hoonah-Angoon and Valdez-Cordova census areas.

This mountain range was named after Mount Saint Elias which had been named in 1741 by the Danish explorer Vitus Bering.

Geology

Although most of the range is non-volcanic, portions at the western end near the Wrangell Mountains are volcanic. This region includes two major stratovolcanoes, Mount Churchill and Mount Bona, the latter being the highest volcano in the United States. West of the Saint Elias Mountains is the still-active Fairweather Fault, which is the northward extension of the Queen Charlotte Fault. The St. Elias range is a result of 10 million years of the North American tectonic plate pushing material up as it overrides the Pacific plate, then the material being worn down by glaciers.

Ranges

The mountains are divided by the Duke Depression, with the shorter, more rounded Kluane Ranges to the east, and the higher Icefield Ranges to the west. Sub-ranges of the Saint Elias include the Alsek Ranges, the Fairweather Range, and the Centennial Range.

Highest mountains

The highest mountains of the range include:

Mountain	Height		Location	Notes
	m	ft
Mount Logan	5,959	19,551	Yukon	Highest mountain in Canada
Mount Saint Elias	5,489	18,008	Alaska-Yukon	Second highest in both Canada and the United States
Mount Lucania	5,226	17,147	Yukon	#3 in Canada
King Peak	5,173	16,971	Yukon	#4 in Canada
Mount Steele	5,073	16,644	Yukon	#5 in Canada
Mount Bona	5,005	16,421	Alaska	#5 in the United States
Mount Wood	4,842	15,885	Yukon
Mount Vancouver	4,812	15,787	Yukon
Mount Churchill	4,766	15,638	Alaska
Mount Slaggard	4,742	15,557	Yukon
Mount Macaulay	4,690	15,387	Yukon
Mount Fairweather	4,671	15,325	BC-Alaska	#1 in BC
Mount Hubbard	4,577	15,015	Yukon
Mount Bear	4,520	14,831	Alaska
Mount Walsh	4,507	14,787	Yukon
Mount Alverstone	4,439	14,565	Alaska-Yukon
University Peak	4,410	14,470	Alaska
McArthur Peak	4,389	14,400	Yukon
Mount Augusta	4,289	14,070	Alaska-Yukon
Mount Kennedy	4,250-4300	~14,000	Yukon
Mount Cook	4,196	13,766	Alaska-Yukon

References

• Richter, Donald H.; Preller, Cindi C.; Labay, Keith A.; Shew, Nora B. (2006). Geologic Map of the Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. USGS Scientific Investigations Map 2877. 
• Winkler, Gary R. (2000). A Geologic Guide to Wrangell—Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska: A Tectonic Collage of Northbound Terranes. USGS Professional Paper 1616. ISBN 0-607-92676-7. 
• Wood, Charles A.; Kienle, Jürgen, eds. (1990). Volcanoes of North America. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43811-X.