Photo: Looking east to Protection Mountain from the Moraine Lake Road
Protection Mountain
- 2850 m (9,350ft)
- Naming History
Located in the Bow River Valley east of Baker Creek; northwest of Castle Mountain
Province: Alberta
Park: Banff
Headwater: Bow
Major Valley: Bow
Visible from Highway: 1
Named by: James F. Porter
Named for: The mountain is said to separate or protect an unusually beautiful valley from the Bow and Baker Creek Valleys. Until 1983 the name was only applied to the NW extremity of the feature.
This eleven kilometre long feature "protects" a beautiful area known as Wonder Valley that lies to the north of the mountain. In a letter to Arthur Wheeler dated September 9, 1911, James Porter wrote, "South of Baker Creek is an unusually beautiful valley, shut off by a very precipitous mountain which we called Mount Protection and the valley itself, Wonder Valley from its unusual beauty. The lake at the head of the valley we called Lake Mitella and the two mountains on the east Mount Pulsatilla (Pulsatilla Mountain) and Mount Avens."
Photo: Looking east to Protection Mountain from the Trans-Canada Highway
Looking northwest to the northwest end of Protection Mountain (courtesy Rienk Lakeman)
Looking northeast to the northwest end of Protection Mountain from the Bow Valley Parkway near Baker Creek
Looking northeast to the northeastern end of Protection Mountain from the Bow Valley Parkway
Looking east to the southwestern end of Protection Mountain from the Bow Valley Parkway near Baker Creek
Looking southwest across Bath Creek to Protection Mountain from the Trans-Canada Highway
Looking southeast across Bath Creek to Protection Mountain from the Trans-Canada Highway
Looking northeast to Protection Mountain from Panorama Ridge (courtesy Sonny Bou)