Extreme points of British Columbia

The extreme points of British Columbia are four in number:

• Mount Jetté, also legally described as Boundary Peak 177, which lies just inside the apex of the joint boundaries of British Columbia, Yukon and the US state of Alaska, at 59°59′41″N 139°03′10″W. US coordinates for the same summit are 59°59′39.3″N 139°03′12.6″W.[1] The International Boundary Commission (IBC) defines "boundary point 177" as 59°59′41.3″N 139°3′13.8″W.[2] The actual extreme point is where a line extending northwest from that summit reaches the 60th Parallel north, which is the limit of British Columbia, en route to the 141st line of longitude, which is the boundary between Yukon and Alaska.
• at the intersection of the 60th Parallel N and the 120th Meridian West, which is the intersection of the boundaries of the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, and Alberta, north of the headwater area of the Petitot River, a tributary of the Liard (60°00′00″N 120°00′00″W).
• Forum Peak, which lies just north of the apex of the joint boundaries of British Columbia, Alberta, and the US state of Montana, and at the southwest corner of Waterton Lakes National Park, at 49°00′14″N 114°04′17″W. The actual extreme point lies just southeast of that summit, where the Continental Divide crosses the Canada–US border. That point is marked by boundary monument 272, at 48°59′55.89″N 114°4′5.45″W.[3]
• the southernmost extremity is a point in the Strait of Juan de Fuca at 48°13′28.4″N 123°32′28.4″W,[4] due south of Christopher Point which is the southernmost tip of Vancouver Island, at 48°19′00″N 123°35′00″W.[5] The southernmost land extremity is the southernmost point of land in the Race Rocks, which comprise an offshore ecological reserve, at 48°18′00″N 123°32′00″W.[6]

Other notable boundary points

• The 49th Parallel boundary dividing the Mainland from the United States terminates in the middle of the Strait of Georgia southwest of the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, at 49°0′7.5″N 123°19′20.1″W.[4]
• The northern marine boundary of British Columbia is the A-B Line, established by the Alaska Boundary Settlement of 1903, drawn from Point A to Point B. Point A is near Cape Muzon, the southern tip of Dall Island, Alaska, at 54°39′44.0″N 132°41′3.1″W.[7] Point B is a point in the waters of Chatham Sound, on roughly the same line of latitude, at the south end of Tongass Passage, which separates Tongass Island, Alaska, from Wales Island, at 54°42′26.9″N 130°36′56.3″W.[7]
• The southernmost point of the land border between Alaska and British Columbia is on the shoreline between Stewart, British Columbia and Hyder, Alaska at Eagle Point, which is the western tip of the estuary of the Salmon River as it enters the head of the Portland Canal, at 55°54′16″N 130°00′59″W. Eagle Point is the location of Boundary Monument 1, as ordered by the Alaska Boundary Tribunal.[8][9]
• The British Columbia-Alberta border diverges from the 120th Meridian at Intersection Mountain, 53°47′56″N 120°00′00″W (the actual summit of Intersection Mountain is at 53°47′56″N 120°00′05″W).

Elevation

• Fairweather Mountain, known in the United States as Mount Fairweather, at 58°54′23″N 137°31′36″W, is the highest point of land in British Columbia, at 4671 m (15,325 ft), and is at the southern apex of the "British Columbia Panhandle" which lies west of the passes connecting Skagway, Dyea and Haines, Alaska to the Yukon. The southern slope of the mountain is in Alaska, while about a third of the mountain is in British Columbia, with the summit wholly within British Columbia
• The highest mountain fully within British Columbia is Mount Waddington, 4019 m (13,186 ft) at 51°22′20″N 125°15′44″W.
• The lowest points in British Columbia are in the City of Richmond, and are c.6 ft below sea level, due to dyking and drainage systems. There are no natural formations in British Columbia below sea level.

See also

• List of Boundary Peaks of the Alaska – British Columbia/Yukon border
• List of peaks on the British Columbia-Alberta border

References

1. "BOUNDARY PT 177 MT JETTE". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
2. "Coordinates along the International Boundary (NAD 83), Southeast Alaska". International Boundary Commission. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
3. "BOUNDARY MON 272 CD US". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
4. "Coordinates along the International Boundary (NAD 83), Straits of Georgia". International Boundary Commission. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
5. "Christopher Point" in BCGNIS Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
6. "Race Rocks" in BCGNIS Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Coordinates along the International Boundary (NAD 83), Portland Canal". International Boundary Commission. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
8. "Eagle Point" in BCGNIS Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
9. "BC Basemap Online". Archived from the original on 2012-12-03. Retrieved 2010-09-12.

• British Columbia Geographical Names Information System online search
• Geographical Names Information System online search