The Watchtower, Mountain summit in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
The Watchtower is a 2,791-metre summit in the Maligne Range of Jasper National Park, Alberta, standing above the Maligne River valley and Medicine Lake. It is composed of sedimentary rock laid down in the Cambrian period and pushed east over younger rock during the Laramide orogeny. Its nearest higher peak is Sirdar Mountain, 11.64 km to the north.
Morrison P. Bridgland, a Dominion Land Surveyor who named many peaks in Jasper Park, gave the mountain its name in 1916. The Geographical Names Board of Canada officially adopted it in 1947. The first ascent was made in 1951 by R.K. Irvin, J. Mowat and R. Strong.
The name, given by surveyor Morrison P. Bridgland in 1916, refers to the tower-like profile the summit shows above Medicine Lake when seen from the Maligne Lake Road. The peak stands in the Maligne Range, and its nearest higher neighbour is Sirdar Mountain, 11.64 km to the north.
The Watchtower stands in the Maligne River valley of Jasper National Park, visible from the Maligne Lake Road above Medicine Lake. Under the Köppen classification the zone is subarctic, with long, cold, snowy winters and mild summers; wind chill can push temperatures below -30 °C. Runoff drains into Excelsior Creek and Watchtower Creek, tributaries of the Maligne River.
The Watchtower's runoff drains into Excelsior Creek and Watchtower Creek, both tributaries of the Maligne River, which empties into the Athabasca River. The peak sits 11.64 km south of its nearest higher neighbour, Sirdar Mountain, and rises above Medicine Lake as seen from the Maligne Lake Road.
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