Yellowhead Pass

The Yellowhead Pass is a mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas in the Canadian Rockies. It is on the provincial boundary between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and lies within Jasper National Park and Mount Robson Provincial Park.

Topological map of the proposed, never-built Canadian Pacific Railway line from East Selkirk to Kamloops, passing through the Yellowhead Pass.

Yellowhead Pass
CNR GP9 in the Yellowhead Pass
Location	Alberta, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates	52°53′33″N 118°27′50″W
Elevation	1,131 m (3,711 ft)
Founder	Canadian Northern Railway Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
Original use	Mountain pass
Governing body	Parks Canada
National Historic Site of Canada

Yellowhead Pass
Elevation	1,131 m (3,711 ft)[1]
Traversed by	Yellowhead Highway and Canadian National Railway; Via Rail's Canadian, Via's Jasper – Prince Rupert train and the Jasper section of the Rocky Mountaineer using CN tracks
Location	Jasper National Park, Alberta / Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada
Range	Canadian Rockies
Topo map	NTS 83D16 Jasper

Yellowhead Pass in British Columbia

Due to its modest elevation of 1,131 m (3,711 ft) and its gradual approaches, the pass was recommended by Sir Sandford Fleming as a route across the Rocky Mountains for the planned Canadian Pacific Railway. The proposal was rejected in favour of a more direct and southerly route, through the more difficult Kicking Horse Pass, which was opened in 1886. Later the Grand Trunk Pacific and Canadian Northern Railway used the Yellowhead Pass for their main lines, built c. 1910–1913. The main line of their successor, the Canadian National Railway, still follows the route. Via Rail's premier passenger train, the Canadian; the Jasper – Prince Rupert train; and the Jasper section of the Rocky Mountaineer use the Yellowhead Pass, which is now used also by the Yellowhead Highway.

The Yellowhead Pass was explored by fur-trading companies in 1810, and in 1813 Jasper House was established by the North West Company, as the route became well used to access furs in interior BC. In spring 1814 Gabriel Franchere, accompanying a Bay-bound fur brigade, departed from Fort George (formerly Fort Astoria) at the mouth of the Columbia River and arrived at Jasper House from the west.^{[2][clarification needed]} At that time, Jasper House was located on the west side of the Athabasca River on Brule Lake.

It is believed that the pass was named for Pierre Bostonais (nicknamed Tête Jaune, French for "yellow head", because of his blond hair), an Iroquois-Métis trapper employed as a guide by the Hudson's Bay Company. Bostonais led one of the first expeditions for the company into what is now the interior of British Columbia through the pass in 1820.

See also

• List of Rocky Mountain passes on the continental divide
• List of mountain passes