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| Crowsnest Pass | |
|---|---|
| Col du Nid-de-Corbeau (French) | |
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| Elevation | 1,358 m (4,455 ft) |
| Traversed by | Crowsnest Highway Canadian Pacific Railway |
| Location | Crowsnest Pass, Alberta /Sparwood, British Columbia, Canada |
| Range | Canadian Rockies |
| Coordinates | 49°37′57″N114°41′33″W / 49.63250°N 114.69250°W /49.63250; -114.69250 |
| Topo map | NTS82G10Crowsnest |
  Location in Alberta Show map of Alberta Location in British Columbia Show map of British Columbia | |
Crowsnest Pass (sometimes referred to asCrow's Nest Pass, French:col du Nid-de-Corbeau) is a lowmountain pass across theContinental Divide of theCanadian Rockies on theAlberta–British Columbia border.
The pass is located in southeast British Columbia and southwest Alberta, and is the southernmost rail and highway route through theCanadian Rockies. It is the lowest-elevation mountain pass in Canada south of theYellowhead Pass (1,130 m or 3,710 ft); the other major passes, which are higher, beingKicking Horse Pass (1,640 m or 5,380 ft),Howse Pass (1,530 m or 5,020 ft) andVermilion Pass (1,680 m or 5,510 ft).
Crowsnest Pass comprises a valley running east–west throughCrowsnest Ridge. On the Alberta side, theCrowsnest River flows east fromCrowsnest Lake, eventually draining into theOldman River and ultimately reachingHudson Bay via theNelson River. Summit Lake on the British Columbia side drains via three intermediary creeks into theElk River, which feeds into theKootenay River, and finally into theColumbia River to thePacific.
Before the arrival of Europeans, Indigenous people used this major breach through the Front Ranges for seasonal migrations, and also for trade between mountain and plains cultures.
TheCanadian Pacific Railway (CPR) built theCrowsnest Route line fromLethbridge, Alberta, to Kootenay Landing, British Columbia, through the Crowsnest Pass between 1897 and 1898. This line was built primarily to access mineral-rich southeastern BC via an all-Canadian rail route, and to assert Canadian (and CPR) sovereignty in an area that U.S. railroads were beginning to build into. It also opened up coal deposits in the Crowsnest and Elk River valleys, which were important to mineral smelting operations and assisted the CPR in its conversion of locomotives from wood to coal. The CPR sought and received construction funding from the federal government, partially in exchange for a freight subsidy on prairie farm exports and equipment imports which came to be called the "Crow's Nest Pass Agreement".
"TheCrow Rate", as the subsidy agreement came to be referred to, was eventually extended from CPR's Crowsnest Pass railway line to apply to all railway lines in western Canada, regardless of corporate ownership or geography, creating artificially low freight rates for grain shipments through theGreat Lakes ports. The rate also correspondingly limited industrial growth in the western provinces as it was cheaper to produce items in eastern Canada and ship them west under the Crow Rate. This subsidy was finally abolished in 1995.
The first motor vehicle to cross the Canadian Rockies did so via Phillipps Pass in 1910, about 1 km north of Crowsnest Pass, and in 1917 a road was blasted around the shores of Crowsnest Lake and across Crowsnest Pass, renamed Interprovincial Highway Three in 1932. It is also known as theCrowsnest Highway.
On August 7, 1919, Captain Ernest Hoy flew aCurtiss JN-4 "Jenny" through Crowsnest Pass, the first flight across the Canadian Rockies.
The Crowsnest Pass area on both sides of the provincial boundary is rich in coal deposits, which were quickly developed after completion of the rail line. All the mines on the Alberta side were closed by the end of the 20th century as cheaper and safer open-pit mines opened on the British Columbia side of the pass. Some logging and oil and gas exploitation also occur in the area and a sulphur plant has been in operation there for several years. Tourism based on the natural and historical resources of the area remains underdeveloped but is slowly growing. The area hosts the world-class Sinister 7 Ultra Marathon, a 161-kilometre foot race that winds through the mountains around the community.[1] Crowsnest Pass also has a local ski hill, Pass Powderkeg,[2] and an outdoor pool.
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