Yellowhead Pass, elev 1133 m, crosses the continental divide between Alberta and BC, 25 km W of Jasper. The Miette R flows E from the pass to meet the Athabasca R at Jasper. Yellowhead Lk, on the W side, empties into the Fraser River. Yellowhead Pass was first called Leather Pass, because the HBC obtained moose and caribou hides through the pass 1826-28; it was supposedly later named for a blond Iroquois trapper, Pierre Bostonais, nicknamed "Tête Jaune," who hunted and trapped in the area. It provided a route to the Cariboo goldfields 1862. It was originally proposed by Sandford Fleming as the route for the CPR, but was rejected. However, early this century both Grand Trunk Pacific and Canadian Northern RY installed trackage over the pass - in some places side by side. Today the CNR and Yellowhead Hwy traverse the pass, which in 1985 was officially designated a Canadian historic site.
-
- MLA 8TH EDITION
- Boles, Glen. "Yellowhead Pass". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 16 July 2014, Historica Canada. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/yellowhead-pass. Accessed 11 October 2024.
- Copy
-
- APA 6TH EDITION
- Boles, G. (2014). Yellowhead Pass. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/yellowhead-pass
- Copy
-
- CHICAGO 17TH EDITION
- Boles, Glen. "Yellowhead Pass." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published February 07, 2006; Last Edited July 16, 2014.
- Copy
-
- TURABIAN 8TH EDITION
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, s.v. "Yellowhead Pass," by Glen Boles, Accessed October 11, 2024, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/yellowhead-pass
- Copy
Thank you for your submission
Our team will be reviewing your submission
and get back to you with any further questions.
Thanks for contributing to The Canadian Encyclopedia.
CloseArticle
Yellowhead Pass
Article by Glen Boles
Published Online February 7, 2006
Last Edited July 16, 2014
Yellowhead Pass, elev 1133 m, crosses the continental divide between Alberta and BC, 25 km W of JASPER. The Miette R flows E from the pass to meet the Athabasca R at Jasper. Yellowhead Lk, on the W side, empties into the Fraser River.