{{Short description|Group of mountain ranges in British Columbia and Yukon}} {{Distinguish|text=other mountains of the [[British Columbia Interior]]}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Interior Mountains | other_name = Northern Interior Mountains | etymology = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | translation = | pronunciation = | image = MEVC satellite.jpg | image_size = 285px | image_alt = | image_caption = Satellite photo of the [[Spectrum Range]] | map = | image_map = Alaska Panhandle-relief Interior Mountains.png | map_alt = | map_caption = Location map of the Interior Mountains | map_relief = | map_size = 285px | location = [[British Columbia]] and [[Yukon]] | label = | label_position = | elevation = | elevation_m = | elevation_ref = | prominence = | prominence_m = | prominence_ref = | isolation = | isolation_km = | isolation_ref = | area_km2 = 221310 | parent_peak = | listing = | range = [[North American Cordillera#Interior System of Canada|Interior System]] | coordinates = {{coord|57|55|36.8|N|126|50|53.9|W|type:mountain|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref = | topo = | type = | age = | geology = | volcanic_arc = | volcanic_belt = | volcanic_field = | volcanic_arc/belt = | last_eruption = | first_ascent = | easiest_route = | normal_route = | access = | child = | embedded = }} The '''Interior Mountains''' or '''Northern Interior Mountains''' are the semi-official names for an expansive collection of mountain ranges that comprises much of the northern half of the [[Canadian province]] of [[British Columbia]] and a large area of southern [[Yukon]].
There are four main groupings, the [[Skeena Mountains|Skeena]], [[Cassiar Mountains|Cassiar]] and [[Omineca Mountains]] to the north of the [[Interior Plateau]] between the [[Coast Mountains]] to the west and the [[Rocky Mountains]] to the east, and the [[Hazelton Mountains]] along the Interior Plateau's northwestern flank against the Coast Mountains, extending from the [[Bulkley Ranges]] south to the [[Bella Coola River]]. Included within the Interior Mountains system is the [[Stikine Plateau]], which contains a number of sub-plateaus and various mountain ranges and is located west of the Cassiars, north of the Skeenas, and to the east of the [[Boundary Ranges]] of the Coast Mountains.
Most of the thousands of summits in the Interior Mountains are unnamed, and they are mostly uninhabited and undeveloped.
==Etymology== The terms ''Interior Mountains'' and ''Northern Interior Mountains'' were coined by British Columbia government geographer Stuart Holland in the course of writing his ''Landforms of British Columbia'', which is a definitive volume on the province's topography and [[toponymy]] written in 1964. This work is used as the basis for official toponymies such as those in the provincial gazette and the [[British Columbia Geographic Names Information System Database]] (BCGNIS), which is the official registry of the province's geographic names.
The term Interior Mountains, used by Holland throughout his work and as a chapter heading describing the mountain system in question, is not present in the Geographical Names Database despite being a chapter heading and appearing on Holland's map of the province's landform systems. He suggests, also, the term "Northern Interior Mountains", partly because the mountain system is in a region also known as the [[British Columbia Interior|Northern Interior]], but also to potentially distinguish this mountain system from mountain ranges farther south in the province's Interior, including those of the [[Interior Plateau]]. In his exegesis, he decided on "Interior Mountains" for reasons of brevity.
==Component ranges and plateaus== Major mountain ranges and plateaus that are considered part of the Interior Mountains are included. ===[[Cassiar Mountains]]=== * [[Dease Plateau]] * [[Kechika Ranges]] * [[Sifton Ranges]] * [[Stikine Ranges]]
===[[Hazelton Mountains]]=== * [[Bulkley Ranges]] * [[Kispiox Range]] * [[Nass Ranges]] * [[Pattullo Range]] * [[Tahtsa Ranges]]
===[[Omineca Mountains]]=== * [[Finlay Ranges]] * [[Hogem Ranges]] * [[Metsantan Range]] * [[Samuel Black Range]] * [[Swannell Ranges]] * [[Tatlatui Range]]
===[[Skeena Mountains]]=== * [[Atna Range]] * [[Babine Range]] * [[Bait Range]] * [[Driftwood Range]] * [[Klappan Range]] * [[Oweegee Range]] * [[Sicintine Range]] * [[Slamgeesh Range]] * [[Strata Range]] * [[Takla Range]]
===[[Stikine Plateau]]=== * [[Kawdy Plateau]] * [[Nahlin Plateau]] * [[Spatsizi Plateau]] * [[Tagish Highland]] (NB sometimes defined as part of the [[Coast Mountains]]) * [[Tahltan Highland]] (NB sometimes defined as part of the [[Coast Mountains]]) * [[Taku Plateau]] (NB sometimes defined as part of the [[Yukon Plateau]]) * [[Tanzilla Plateau]]
==Parks and protected areas== *[[Boya Lake Provincial Park]] *[[Dall River Old Growth Provincial Park]] *[[Denetiah Provincial Park]] *[[Dune Za Keyih Provincial Park and Protected Area]] *[[Horneline Creek Provincial Park]] *[[Hyland River Provincial Park]] *[[Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park]] *[[Mount Edziza Provincial Park]] *[[Rainbow Alley Provincial Park]] *[[Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park]] *[[Stikine River Provincial Park]] *[[Todagin South Slope Provincial Park]] *[[Tuya Mountains Provincial Park]]
===Proposed protected areas=== *[[Sacred Headwaters]]
==See also== *[[Interior Plateau]]
==References== *S. Holland, ''Landforms of British Columbia'', Province of British Columbia, 1976 {{reflist}}
{{Interior Mountains}}
[[Category:Interior Mountains| ]] [[Category:Northern Interior of British Columbia]] [[Category:Mountain ranges of British Columbia]] [[Category:Mountain ranges of Yukon]]