Tonsa

Tonsa, or Tonsa Peak, is a 3,053-metre (10,016-foot) mountain summit located on the border of Alberta and British Columbia on the Continental Divide in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain forms part of the backdrop to Moraine Lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks of Banff National Park. It was named in 1894 by Samuel E.S. Allen for the Stoney Indian word for the number four. [2]

Tonsa
Tonsa (center) seen from Larch Valley flanked by Mount Bowlen on left and Mount Perren on right
Highest point
Elevation3,053 m (10,016 ft) [1]
Prominence173 m (568 ft) [1]
Parent peakMount Bowlen (3072 m)[1]
ListingMountains of Alberta
Mountains of British Columbia
Coordinates51°17′51″N 116°12′00″W [1]
Geography
Tonsa
Location on Alberta and British Columbia border
Tonsa
Tonsa (British Columbia)
LocationAlberta / British Columbia
Parent rangeBow Range
Canadian Rockies[1]
Topo mapNTS 82N/08

Geology

Like other mountains in Banff Park, Tonsa is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods.[3] Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.[4]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Tonsa is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[5] Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. Precipitation runoff from Tonsa drains east into tributaries of the Bow River, or west into tributaries of the Vermilion River.

See also

References
  1. "Tonsa Peak". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
  2. "Tonsa". PeakFinder.com. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  3. Belyea, Helen R. (1960). The Story of the Mountains in Banff National Park (PDF). parkscanadahistory.com (Report). Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  4. Gadd, Ben (2008). Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias.
  5. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. ISSN 1027-5606.
Moraine Lake peaks
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