Tumbling Peak


Tumbling Peak is a mountain summit located on the western border of Kootenay National Park in the Vermilion Range, which is a sub-range of the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. The mountain takes its name from the Tumbling Glacier located on its northeast flank. Its nearest higher peak is Foster Peak, to the southeast. Hewitt Peak is also to the southeast, and Mount Gray is to the immediate northwest. The mountain is situated in an area known as the Rockwall, which is an escarpment of the Vermilion Range. The Rockwall Trail is a scenic 55 kilometers traverse of alpine passes, sub-alpine meadows, hanging glaciers, and limestone cliffs, in some places in excess of 900 meters above the trail.

Geology

Tumbling Peak is composed of Ottertail limestone, a sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods and pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Tumbling Peak is located in a subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains east into tributaries of the Vermilion River, or west into headwaters of the Kootenay River.