Selkirk Mountains

Selkirk Mountains
At the Rogers Pass by John A. Fraser, 1886
Highest point
Peak	Mount Sir Sandford
Elevation	3,519 m (11,545 ft)
Coordinates	51°39′24″N 117°52′03″W / 51.65667°N 117.86750°W / 51.65667; -117.86750
Dimensions
Length	525 km (326 mi) NS
Width	175 km (109 mi) EW
Geography
Location map of the Selkirk Mountains
Countries	Canada and United States
Provinces/States	British Columbia, Idaho and Washington
Range coordinates	49°57′N 117°23′W / 49.95°N 117.38°W / 49.95; -117.38
Parent range	Columbia Mountains
Borders on	Monashee Mountains, Purcell Mountains and Cariboo Mountains
Geology
Type of rock	Metamorphic rock

The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Peak and Krell Hill near Spokane and extend approximately 320 km north (200 miles) from the border to Kinbasket Lake, at the now-deserted location of the onetime fur company post, Boat Encampment. The range is bounded on its west, northeast and at its northern extremity by the Columbia River, or the reservoir lakes now filling most of that river's course. From the Columbia's confluence with the Beaver River, they are bounded on their east by the Purcell Trench,^[1] which contains the Beaver River, Duncan River, Duncan Lake, Kootenay Lake and the Kootenay River. The Selkirks are distinct from, and geologically older than, the Rocky Mountains.^[2] The neighboring Monashee and Purcell Mountains, and sometimes including the Cariboo Mountains to the northwest, are also part of the larger grouping of mountains known as the Columbia Mountains. A scenic highway loop, the International Selkirk Loop, encircles the southern portions of the mountain range.

The Selkirks were named after Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk.