Jarvis Pass facts for kids

Jarvis Pass is a mountain pass in Kakwa Provincial Park in the Northern Rockies of British Columbia, Canada, located to the north of Kakwa Lake, on the British Columbia-Alberta boundary, and therefore is on the Continental Divide. It was one of the many passes surveyed as a route for the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1870s.

History

On December 9, 1874, explorer E.W. Jarvis and Major C.F. Hanington of Ottawa began an expedition across the Rockies, beginning at Quesnel, with the purpose of determining if the route they traveled could be used by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). In February, 1875, Jarvis discovered the pass. The pass, about 10 miles (16 km) from Mount Sir Alexander, proved to be unusable by the CPR because of its 5,000 ft (1,500 m) elevation. Jarvis and Hanington completed their 1,000 mi (1,600 km) journey on May 21, 1875 in Winnipeg. The name of the pass, chosen in E.W. Jarvis' honor, was officially adopted by the Geographical Board on 31 March 1917 and confirmed in 1982 on 15 December. The mountains to either side of the pass are named Jarvis and Mount Hanington.