Salient Mountain - Syson Lake

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Salient Mountain 83 E/2 - Resplendent Creek
8-47-5-W6
53° 02' N 118° 43' W
Approximately 45 km west north-west of Jasper

The name for this 2,810, mountain was applied in 1923 by A.O. Wheeler.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Sand River 84 H/9 - Alberta
7-99-15-W4
57° 34' N 112° 27' W
Flows south-west into Gardiner Lakes approximately 129 km north north-west of Fort McMurray

The precise origin of the name of this river is unknown; it is probably descriptive. William Christie, DLS, during his survey of the area referred to it as Punk River. The Surveyor General found the term objectionable. Therefore, Sand River became its official name.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Saskatoon Hill 83 M/3 - Wembley
9-10-72-9-W6
53° 13' N 119° 17' W
Approximately 40 km west of Grande Prairie

The name for this hill, 912 metres in altitude, is descriptive of the abundance of saskatoon bushes in the area. The name was recorded by the Dominion Land Survey when its crews were in the area in the early 1910s.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Saunders Creek 83 B/5 - Saunders
19-40-12-W5
52° 27' N 115° 43' W
Flows south into North Saskatchewan River, approximately 24 km east of Nordegg

This creek was named after B.J. Saunders, DLS, ALS, the commissioner for Ontario on the Ontario-Manitoba boundary survey in 1897. He surveyed the 11th Baseline in 1908.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Scarp Mountain 83 D/9 - Amethyst Lake
22-42-3-W6
52° 38' N 118° 21' W
Approximately 33 km south-west of Jasper

A "scarp" is a steep slope of cliff. This steep sloped mountain was given its descriptive name in 1922 by A.O. Wheeler.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Seibert Lake 73 L/11 - Pinehurst Lake
4-21-66-9-W4
54° 43' 04” N 111° 18' 00” W
Approximately 42 km east of Lac La Biche

The name of this lake has been official since 1918 and commemorates Frederick Victor Seibert (1885-1966), Dominion and Alberta Land Surveyor, who surveyed this area and a large parcel of country stretching all the way to the Saskatchewan border circa 1916.
Place Names of Alberta Volume 3: Central Alberta by Tracey Harrison

Shand Creek 83 E/15 - Pierre Greys Lakes
22-56-4-W6
53° 51' N 118° 31' W
Flows north into Lone Teepee Creek, approximately 40 km east of Grande Cache

This creek was named in 1947 in honour of John Shand-Harvey (1880-1968), a pioneer who arrived in Edmonton in 1905. He was a homesteader, trapper, and a forest ranger. He surveyed baselines and was a packer for railways and mountaineers. One of Shand-Harvey's first jobs was with the surveying firm of Driscoll and Knight.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Shanks Lake 82 H/2 - Shanks Lake
26-1-27-W4
49° 04' N 112° 43' W
Approximately 65 km south of Lethbridge

This feature was named after Thomas Shanks (1869-1926) who was Director General of Surveys for the Dominion Land Survey from 1914-1924.
Place Names of Alberta Volume 2: Southern Alberta by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Shaver River 73 L/16 - Medley River
26-69-1-W4
54° 59' N 110° 11' W
Flows south-east into Saskatchewan approximately 55 km north north-east of Cold Lake.

The name for this river was officially adopted July 2 1945 and commemorates P.A. Shaver (1869-1960), Dominion Land Surveyor, who was engaged in railway construction and irrigation projects near Calgary and Red Deer and surveyed in the Peace Country.
Place Names of Alberta Volume 3: Central Alberta by Tracey Harrison

Shekilie River 84 M/5 - Bootis Hill
16-119-12-W6
59° 21' N 120° 00' W
Flows west into British Columbia, approximately 100 km north north-west of Rainbow Lake

It was labelled Shikilie River on a Peace River sketch map of 1913 and is an aboriginal word meaning "between two hills"and is descriptive. It was noted by a surveyor on the Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Commission, 1950-1953, as being locally known as Rabbit Creek.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Shelley Creek 74 E/6 - Kearl Lake
35-95-9-W4
57° 17' 10” N 111° 24' 45” W
Flows north-west into Muskeg River approximately 63 km north of Fort McMurray

The precise origin of this name, given to the creek by surveyors, is unknown.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Sidney Creek 83 K/16 - Wallace River
2-69-14-W5
54° 57' N 116° 02' W
Flows north-west into East Prairie, approximately 60 km south south-east of High Prairie

It appears on a federal government map of 191, and the creek crosses the 18th Baseline. It is named after Sidney Parnall, of Edmonton, a member of a survey party.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Signal Mountain 83 C/13 - Medicine Lake
10-45-28-W5
50° 52' N 117° 58' W
Approximately 9 km east of Jasper

This 2,255 m mountain was given its name in 1916 by M.P. Bridgland. This was a site used by forest rangers to watch for forest fires. A telephone was located near the summit of this mountain in order to signal any reports of fire in the area.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Sinclair Creek 83 M/5 - Hythe
19-20-73-12-W6
55° 20' N 119° 49' W
Flows south into Beaverlodge River, approximately 65 km west north-west of Grande Prairie

In 1916, J.N. Wallace, DLS, ALS, stated it was named after Tom Sinclair of Grande Prairie, a member of a survey party.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Sled Island 84 J/5 - Sled Island
13-108-11-W5
58° 23' N 115° 42' W
In Peace River, approximately 82 km east south-east of High Level

Sled Island is a translation of the Cree name. In the late 19th century, the Cree used to make their toboggans here due to the excellent birch trees that grew on the island. This island was recorded as Sledge Island in 1883 by W.T. Thompson, DLS, during a survey of the Peace River. It was annotated as Sled Island on the 1915 township map, following the surveys of A.W. Ponton, ALS, (1910) and J.S. Galletly (1913).
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Smith Creek 83 C/10 - George Creek
7-42-18-W5
52° 36' N 116° 35' W
Flows north into Blackstone River, approximately 37 km west north-west of Nordegg

The name for this creek was given in 1907 by H.L. Seymour, DLS, ALS, after one of the men employed staking coal claims in the area.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Snowfall Creek 84 L/4 - Chasm Creek
13-104-13-W6
58° 02' N 120° 00' W
Flows north north-west into British Columbia approximately 64 km south south-west of Rainbow Lake

This name was given by surveyors because of a snowfall occurring in August while they were camped at this creek during the Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Survey, 1950-1951.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Sock Lake 84 E/12 - Sock Lake
13-99-13-W6
57° 36' N 119° 59' W
Approximately 118 km south south-west of Rainbow Lake

This name was applied during the Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Commission survey as descriptive of its shape.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Sofa Mountain 82 H/4 - Waterton Lakes
1-29-W4
49° 03' N 113° 47' W
Approximately 50 km south south-east of Pincher Creek

Named by M.P. Bridgland, this 2,520 m mountain has a peculiar formation on its northern shoulder which extends along the south side of Middle Waterton Lake like a giant couch. The name was officially approved October 15, 1915.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

South Heart River 83 N/9 - Grouard
12-76-15-W5
55° 34' N 116° 11' W
Flows south into Buffalo Bay, approximately 25 km north-east of High Prairie

Surveyors' field notes from 1911 show this as Heart River; however, some time before 1950 that name was changed to Harmon River. In 1950, the name was changed to South Heart River, which referred to its position relative to the Heart River and better reflected local usage.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Spedden 73 L/4 - Cache Lake
34-59-12-W4
54° 08' N 111° 43' W
Approximately 33 km west north-west of St. Paul

There is some confusion over the origin of the name. One source maintains that the station here was first called "Ashmont" and the first post office was called "Cache Lake." According to this source, one of the workers in the surveying party, a Mr. Spedden, died during construction and the hamlet was subsequently named in his honour.
Place Names of Alberta Volume 3: Central Alberta by Tracey Harrison

Spirit Ridge 83 M/11 - Woking
17-77-7-W6
55° 40' N 119° 02' W
Approximately 16 km south-west of Spirit River

Officially named in 1958 at the request of Alberta Surveys and Mapping, this 914 metre hill was probably named for its proximity to Spirit River. J.B. St. Cyr recorded the name for this feature in 1904 as Old Ranch Mountains.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Spring-Rice, Mount 83 C/3 - Columbia Icefield
35-23-W5
52° 01' N 117° 14' W
Approximately 110 km south-east of Jasper, on the Alberta-BC boundary

Sir Cecil Arthur Spring-Rice, KCMG (1839-1918), was a British diplomat and ambassador to the United States. A.O. Wheeler named this 3,275 m mountain after him in 1920.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

St. Nicholas Peak 82 N/9 - Hector Lake
3-31-18-W5
51° 38' N 116° 29' W
Approximately 85 km north-west of Banff

There is a striking formation on the side of this peak that A.O. Wheeler thought resembled Santa Claus, or St. Nicholas. The name for this 2,970 m mountain peak was officially approved January 14, 1909.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Stairway Peak 82 N/15 - Mistaya Lake
6-32-19-W5
51° 48' N 116° 39' W
Approximately 100 km north-west of Banff on the Alberta-BC boundary

This 2,999 m mountain was named by A.O. Wheeler in 1918. The name is descriptive of the formation, which resembles a stairway up the side of the peak.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Starlight Range 83 E/7 - Blue Creek
52-5-W6
53° 27' N 118° 40' W
Approximately 75 km north-west of Jasper

The name for this range containing Arcturus, Sirius and Vega peaks was officially adopted May 1, 1934. R.W. Cautley named the peaks, and it is likely he also named the range.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Stebbing Creek 83 K/16 - Wallace River
36-69-14-W5
54° 56' N 116° 01' W
Flows west into Sidney Creek, approximately 57 km south-east of High Prairie

It appears on a federal government map of 1917, and since the creek follows the 18th Baseline, it is likely the name of a survey crew member.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Steen River 84 N/11 - Steen River
3-122-19-W5
59° 35' N 117° 10' W
Flows north-east into Hay River, approximately 117 km north of High Level

It was named by J.R. Akins, DLS, in his 1915 survey of the 6th Meridian. A.S. Steen was the cook on Akins' survey.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Stewart Canyon 82 O/5 - Castle Mountain
32-26-11-W5
51° 16' N 115° 30' W
Approximately 12 km north north-east of Banff

In 1886, George A Stewart, DLS, was commissioned to survey the area and furnish plans for a proposed townsite. He became the superintendent of the new park (now Banff National Park) in 1887, a position he held for ten years. This canyon was named after him.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Stewart, Mount 83 C/2 - Cline River
33-37-21-W5
52° 13' N 116° 57' W
Approximately 105 km south-east of Jasper

Louis B Stewart, DLS, DTS (1861-1937) accompanied by A.P. Coleman on a few expeditions in the Rockies during the late 1800s. He was a professor of surveying and geodesy at the University of Toronto. The name for this 3,312 m mountain was made official March 5, 1935.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Stoney Island 74 D/14 - Wood Creek
8-91-9-W4
56° 52' N 111° 26' W
On Athabasca River approximately 18 km north of Fort McMurray

The name was recorded in 1914 as Stony Island by A.D. Griffin, DLS, and is likely descriptive.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Stowe Creek 84 C/13 - Manning
7-92-22-W5
56° 58' N 117° 32' W
Flows south-east into Notikewin River, approximately 8 km north-east of Manning

The precise origin of the name of this creek is unknown, it likely was named after a survey crew member. The name appears on a federal government map as early as 1919.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Strawberry Creek 83 O/5 - Driftpile
17-73-10-W5
55° 20' N 115° 34' W
Flows north-east into Swan River, approximately 40 km west of Slave Lake

The name was mentioned in the Dominion Land Surveys report of 1908, and is likely descriptive of the wild strawberries found along its banks.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Strawberry Ridge 82 O/14 - Limestone Mountain
32-9-W5
51° 48' N 115° 15' W
Approximately 70 km north north-east of Banff

This ridge was first named by M.P. Bridgland and was officially approved November 25, 1941. The precise origin of the name is unknown.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Stud Creek 82 O/11 - Burnt Timber Creek
36-30-9-W5
51° 37' N 115° 09' W
Flows east into Burnt Timber Creek, approximately 55 km north-east of Banff

This creek was named by M.P. Bridgland in 1917. The origin of the name is unknown.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Suicide Creek 82 G/8 - Beaver Mines
7-5-3-W5
49° 22' N 114° 23' W
Approximately 17 km south-west of Beaver Mines

M.P. Bridgland named this creek June 30, 1915. No other origin information is available.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Sunset Peak 83 E/7 - Blue Creek
9-52-7-W6
53° 29' N 118° 59' W
Approximately 89 km north-west of Jasper

This 3,265 m mountain peak was named in 1929 by R.W. Cautley. The name is likely descriptive.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Sunshine Creek 82 O/4 - Banff
5-25-13-W5
51° 07' N 115° 46' W
Flows north into Healy Creek approximately 16 km south-west of Banff

The creek was named by A.O. Wheeler and was officially approved in 1958. No other information is known.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Surette Lake 84 K/7 - Child Lake
1-108-17-W5
58° 20' 45” N 116° 41' 00” W
Approximately 32 km south-east of High Level

Named in 1914 by P.M.H. LeBlanc, DLS, after his field assistant, Germain Augustin Surette, during a township survey. Surette, a native of Ottawa, received his commission as a Dominion Lands Surveyor in March 1927.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Surprise Point 83 D/9 - Amethyst Lakes
6-43-2-W6
52° 40' N 118° 16' W
Approximately 26 km south-west of Jasper

It took the climbing party longer to reach the top of this 2,400 m peak longer than expected. The descriptive name was attached to this feature in 1916 by M.P. Bridgland.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Survey Hill 73 D/11 - Hardisty
23-43-8-W4
52° 43' N 111° 04' W
Approximately 18 km south-west of the town of Wainwright

This name for this hill, located in the Wainwright Regional Training Area, may be descriptive.
Place Names of Alberta Volume 3: Central Alberta by Tracey Harrison

Survey Peak 82 N/15 - Mistaya Lake
36-34-21-W5
51° 57' N 116° 51' W
Approximately 120 km north-west of Banff

This 2,334 m peak was named in 1898 by J.N. Collie. He and H.E.M. Stuffield, an English climbing companion, climbed the peak in order to commence a plane table survey of the area.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Sutton Creek 74 D/16 - High Hill River
30-90-3-W4
56° 50' N 110° 27' W
Flows west into High Hill River, approximately 59 km east north-east of Fort McMurray

This creek is named for Gordon Sutton, a member of a survey party in the area. It shows on a federal government map as early as 1914.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Swan Hills 83 J/11 - Swan Hills
14-66-10-W5
54° 43' N 115° 24' W
Approximately 75 km south-west of Slave Lake

The New Townsite of Swan Hills was established in 1959 because of the various companies that undertook works in the Swan Hills oilfield. At one point, there was consideration being given to name the town Chalmers, after Thomas Chalmers, the Dominion Land Surveyor who came through the area in 1897.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Sweezy Creek 73 M/16 - Cowper Lake
1-16-79-1-W4
55° 50' N 110° 05' W
Flows west into Landels River approximately 120 km south-east of Fort McMurray

The origin of the name is not known; the name appears on a federal map of 1917. The creek may have been named after a survey crew member.
Place Names of Alberta Volume IV Northern Alberta by Merrily K. Aubrey

Syncline Mountain 82 G/8 - Beaver Mines
2-5-4-W5
49° 21' N 114° 26' W
Approximately 21 km south-west of Beaver Mines

According to the Alberta and British Columbia Boundary Survey, Part 1 (1917), Syncline Mountain was named after "a very apparent physical feature." The entire formation of this 2,441 m feature comprises a syncline, which is "a fold in which the bed has been forced down in the middle, or up on the sides to force to form a trough. The rim of this syncline has three peaks, rising a further 152 to 213 metres.
Place Names of Alberta Volume I Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills by Aphrodite Karamitsanis

Syson Lake 73 D/4 - Castor
25-35-13-W4
52° 02' N 111° 43' W
Approximately 5 km south of Coronation

This lake was named after Richard M. Syson who originally came to Canada as a Barr Colonist in 1903. He homesteaded 10 km north of Stettler and died in February of 1958. He was given the opportunity to name the lake following a survey party custom that called for each man to name a lake.
Place Names of Alberta Volume 3: Central Alberta by Tracey Harrison