Vermilion (BC) Range

Vermilion Range (BC) (82N)

Please note that there is another Vermilion Range in Alberta (82O).

The Vermilion Range lies between the upper Kootenay River and the Vermilion River. The northern end is at Wolverine Pass. The southern end is at the point where the Vermilion River turns abruptly to the southwest.

The range was named by James Hector in 1858. Four hours after crossing what is now Vermilion Pass , HectorÍs party reached the Vermilion Plain where Ochre Creek joins the main valley. He wrote in his journal that, "Its surface is completely covered with yellow ochre, washed down from the ferruginous shales in the mountains. The Kootanie Indians come to this place sometimes, and we found the remains of a camp and of a large fire which they had used to convert the ochre into the red oxide which they take away to trade to the Indians of the low country, and also to the Blackfeet as a pigment, calling it vermilion." The attractive peak which stands to the east of the ochre beds takes its name from the colour of the pigment which the Indians obtained in the flats below.