The Premier Range is a group of mountains within the Cariboo Mountains of east-central British Columbia, Canada. The range (also known as the Premier Group) is bounded by the Raush River and Kiwa Creek to the north, the North Thompson River on the south and west and the Fraser River and its tributaries to the east.
In 1927, the year of Canada's Diamond Jubilee, it was decided that the names of the higher peaks in this range would be reserved to pay tribute to prime ministers of Canada, prime ministers of the United Kingdom, and premiers of the province of British Columbia. In practice, however, only one British prime minister and one British Columbia premier have been so honoured, and recent changes to Canadian geographic naming regulations make it unlikely that any British prime minister or other non-Canadian will receive such an honour in the future.
The named summits of the Premier Range are, in order of elevation:
Mountain Height (m) Height (ft) Naming CoordinatesMount Sir Wilfrid Laurier 351611535Sir Wilfrid Laurier - 7th Prime Minister Mount Sir John Abbott 339811148Sir John Abbott - 3rd Prime Minister Mount Sir John Thompson 334910988Sir John Thompson - 4th Prime Minister Mount Sir Mackenzie Bowell 330110830Sir Mackenzie Bowell - 5th Prime Minister Mount Stanley Baldwin 325610682Stanley Baldwin - British Prime Minister Mount Mackenzie King 323410610Mackenzie King - 10th Prime Minister Mount Arthur Meighen 320510515Arthur Meighen - 9th Prime Minister Mount Richard Bennett 319010466Richard Bennett - 11th Prime Minister Mount John Oliver 312310246John Oliver - B.C. Premier Mount Lester Pearson 308610125Lester B. Pearson - 14th Prime Minister Mount Louis Saint Laurent 3045 9990Louis St. Laurent - 12th Prime Minister Mount Pierre Elliott Trudeau26408661Pierre Trudeau - 15th Prime Minister Mount Sir Allan MacNab 22977535Sir Allan MacNab - Premier of the colonial-era Province of Canada
Before the Premier Range was selected, many mountains outside this area were named after Canadian prime ministers. Mount Mackenzie, Mount Tupper, Mount Macdonald and Mount Laurier rise over the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks that travel through the Rogers Pass near Golden, British Columbia. Mount Robert in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia honours Sir Robert Borden. There is also a Mount John Diefenbaker in British Columbia named after John Diefenbaker. Other than Laurier (who was also honoured with the name of a mountain in Yukon), none of these prime ministers have received the honour of also having a mountain named for them in the Premier Range.
See also Mica Mountain
References
External links Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia on the Premier Range Place Names in the Canadian Rockies Mountains of Canada from Canadian Geographic