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Gary Hebert | all galleries >> National Parks of Canada >> Banff National Park >> Castle Mountain > Eisenhower Peak
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09-OCT-2008 © Gary Hebert

Eisenhower Peak

Banff National Park, Canada

Castle Mountain is halfway between Banff and Lake Louise along the Bow Valley Parkway. Named by James Hector in 1858. The mountain was named for its fortress or castle-like appearance. Despite the appropriateness of Dr. Hector’s name and the fact that it had been used for almost one hundred years, the mountain was renamed Mount Eisenhower in 1946 in honour of American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during the final year of World War II. The decision to rename Castle Mountain was made by Prime Minister Mackenzie-King on the day before the President was to pay a visit to Ottawa. As much as Eisenhower was respected, this arbitrary decision so enraged the Alberta government that it immediately formed its own geographical names board. It took thirty-three years and an Albertan as Prime Minister before Castle Mountain regained its original name in 1979. As a compromise, the prominent tower on the southern end of the mountain was given the name Eisenhower Peak.


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Lise De Serres17-Oct-2008 19:42
Beautiful light on these gigantesque mountain!!