Yellowhead Pass

pass, Alberta-British Columbia, Canada

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Article History

Yellowhead Pass, route through the Rocky Mountains, at the Alberta–British Columbia border, Canada, just west of Jasper and leading from Jasper National Park into Mount Robson Provincial Park. It lies at 3,711 feet (1,131 m) above sea level. The pass was noted by Sandford Fleming in his railway survey of 1870 and was later used by the main line of the Canadian National Railway. It is now also traversed by the Yellowhead Route of the Trans Canada Highway running from Prince Rupert, B.C. (west), to Edmonton, Alta., and Portage la Prairie, Man. (east). The pass and nearby Yellowhead Lake were named for Pierre Bostonais, a blond Iroquois trapper, who was nicknamed Tête-Jaune (“Yellowhead”).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.