Peak Finder

Photo: Looking northwest to Dolomite Peak from the Icefields Parkway

Dolomite Peak

  • 2782 m (9,128ft)
  • First Ascent
  • Naming History
51.6761N -116.375W
Located northeast of Helen Creek and west of Mosquito Creek

Province: Alberta
Park: Banff
Headwater: Bow
Visible from Highway: 93N
Ascent Date: 1930
Ascent Party: J. Monroe Thorington
Ascent Guide: Peter Kaufmann
Year Named: 1897
Named by: Charles E. Fay, J. Norman Collie, Dixon; Charles Thompson
Named for: The mountain was thought to resemble the Dolomite Range of the Italian Alps.

Dolomite, crystalline carbonate of lime and carbonate of magnesium named for the geologist Dolomieu, are rare in the Rockies. Dolomite is formed when water containing dissolved magnesium seeps into sediments that are largely calcium carbonate. The magnesium then replaces some of the calcium. The resultant rock is stronger and more colourful than limestone. The cliffs of Dolomite Peak are a mixture of limestone and dolomite. The rock has weathered into splintered and jagged crests with slender rock towers. [M.B. Williams]

Photo: Looking southeast to Dolomite Peak from Dolomite Pass (courtesy Dave Wasserman)

Looking northeast to Dolomite Peak from the Icefields Parkway

Looking southeast across Katherine Lake to Dolomite Peak (Mount Hector beyond at right) from Cirque Peak (courtesy Vern De Wit)

Looking east to Dolomite Peak from the trail to Helen Lake (courtesy Vern De Wit)

Looking east-southeast to Dolomite Peak (courtesy Marta Wojnarowska)