Sunwapta Peak
Mountain in Alberta, Canada
title: "Sunwapta Peak" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["three-thousanders-of-alberta", "mountains-of-jasper-national-park", "front-ranges"] description: "Mountain in Alberta, Canada" topic_path: "general/three-thousanders-of-alberta" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunwapta_Peak" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Mountain in Alberta, Canada ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Sunwapta Peak |
| photo | South Face of Sunwapta Peak from Tangle Ridge.jpg |
| photo_caption | South Face of Sunwapta Peak seen from Tangle Ridge |
| elevation_m | 3315 |
| elevation_ref | |
| prominence_m | 1014 |
| prominence_ref | |
| range | Canadian Rockies |
| listing | Mountains of Alberta |
| location | Alberta, Canada |
| map | Canada Alberta |
| map_caption | Location in Alberta |
| map_size | 200 |
| label_position | right |
| mapframe | yes |
| mapframe-zoom | 8 |
| mapframe-caption | Interactive map of Sunwapta Peak |
| coordinates | |
| coordinates_ref | |
| topo | NTS |
| first_ascent | 1906 by Jimmy Simpson |
| easiest_route | Easy scramble |
| :: |
| name = Sunwapta Peak | photo = South Face of Sunwapta Peak from Tangle Ridge.jpg | photo_caption = South Face of Sunwapta Peak seen from Tangle Ridge | elevation_m = 3315 | elevation_ref = | prominence_m = 1014 | prominence_ref = | range = Canadian Rockies | listing = Mountains of Alberta | location = Alberta, Canada | map = Canada Alberta | map_caption = Location in Alberta | map_size = 200 | label_position = right | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 8 | mapframe-caption = Interactive map of Sunwapta Peak | coordinates = | range_coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | topo = NTS | first_ascent = 1906 by Jimmy Simpson | easiest_route = Easy scramble
Sunwapta Peak is a peak in the Sunwapta River valley of Jasper National Park, just north of the Columbia Icefield in Alberta, Canada. The peak was named in 1892 after the Stoney language word sunwapta meaning "turbulent river". The mountain can be seen from the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93).
Routes
The normal climbing route (an easy scramble) is via the southwest slopes, requiring an elevation gain of 1735 m to the summit from the trail head beside the Icefields Parkway.
Geology
Sunwapta Peak is composed of sedimentary rock laid down from the Precambrian to Jurassic periods that was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.
Climate
Based on the Köppen climate classification, Sunwapta Peak is in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. Precipitation runoff from Sunwapta Peak drains into the Sunwapta River which is a tributary of the Athabasca River.
Gallery
Sunwapta Peak from Icefields Parkway.jpg|Sunwapta Peak from southbound on the Icefields Parkway
References
| publisher=Rocky Mountain Books|location = Calgary | year=1999|isbn=0-921102-67-4|pages=312–313}}
References
- {{cite bivouac
- {{cite cgndb
- Gadd, Ben. (2008). "Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias".
- {{Cite Köppen-Geiger cc 2007
- {{cite crdb
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::