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Mount Logan

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Mount Logan is the highest mountain in Canada. It is also the second-highest peak in North America, sitting just below Denali.

This huge mountain is located in the Yukon. It sits inside the Kluane National Park and Reserve. The mountain is part of the Saint Elias Mountains. It is located near the border of Alaska. The mountain is the source of two glaciers named the Hubbard and the Logan.

Mountain and footprints
Mountain and footprints

It is a very special mountain because of its size. It is believed to have the largest base circumference of any non-volcanic mountain on Earth. The mountain is part of a massive group of peaks called a massif. This massif has eleven peaks that are all over 4,000 meters high.

This mountain is still changing today. Because of active tectonic uplifting, Mount Logan is actually rising in height. It grows taller by about one millimeter every year. The weather on the mountain is extremely cold. In the winter, the air temperature stays around -40 degrees Celsius. In the summer, the temperature reaches near freezing.

Mount Logan Knife ridge, east ridge by Christian Stangl (flickr)
Mount Logan Knife ridge, east ridge by Christian Stangl (flickr)

Because there is very little snow melt, a thick ice cap covers the mountain. In some spots, this ice is almost 3,000 meters thick. This makes the mountain a very icy and frozen place.

People did not see this mountain for a long time. It is hidden in the heart of the mountains and is hard to see from the coast. An American geologist named Israel C. Russell first reported seeing it in 1890. He saw white domes rising far above the clouds. He gave the mountain its name. The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan. He was a Canadian geologist who started the Geological Survey of Canada. In 1894, people thought it was the highest peak in North America. They later learned that Denali was actually taller.

Climbing Mount Logan is a very big job. An international team of climbers first reached the summit in 1925. This team included people from Canada, Britain, and the United States. It took them 65 days to finish their journey. Some of the climbers suffered from severe frostbite during the trip.

For a long time, no one knew the exact height of the mountain. Measurements changed many times between 5,900 and 6,200 meters. In May 1992, a team used GPS to find the true height. They found that Mount Logan is exactly 5,959 meters tall.

Many different people have climbed the mountain in different ways. Some people climbed the East Ridge in 1957. Others made the first ski descent in 1967. A 15-year-old named Naomi Prohaska reached the top in 2017. She was the youngest person to ever do it. Because rescue missions can be very expensive, there are new rules for climbing. In 2020, Parks Canada said people cannot climb alone. They also said people cannot climb during the winter. This helps protect both the climbers and the taxpayers.

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🖼️ Images & Media (3)
File:Mountain and footprints.JPG
Mountain and footprints.JPG
File:Mount Logan Knife ridge, east ridge by Christian Stangl (flickr).jpg
Mount Logan Knife ridge, east ridge by...
File:Mount Logan 3D version 1.gif
Mount Logan 3D version 1.gif
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