Mount Hector (Alberta)



Mount Hector is a 3394 m mountain summit located in the Bow River valley of Banff National Park, in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. The mountain was named in 1884 by George M. Dawson after James Hector, a geologist on the Palliser expedition. The mountain is located beside the Icefields Parkway, 17 km north of Lake Louise.

The first ascent was made in 1895 by Philip S. Abbot, Charles Fay and Charles S. Thompson.

Geology
Like other mountains in Banff Park, Mount Hector is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny. The summit down to the base of cliffs is composed of Cathedral limestone and dolostone of the middle Cambrian period while the slopes below are of middle Cambrian Gog Group quartzite.

Climate
Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Hector is located in a subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. Precipitation runoff from Mount Hector drains into tributaries of the Bow River.