What’s in a Name

The view over Upper Waterton Lake is vast and deep. This is the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy – the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai First Nations. Few traditional names have endured. Many of the names now in use celebrate members of the International Boundary Commission. Following the Oregon Treaty of 1846 between Great Britain and the United States, the 49th parallel in western North America became the international boundary. For the next 80 years, survey teams worked to clear and precisely mark that latitude. (See pg. 34 for reference to mountain peaks.)

Bear’s Hump: This popular viewpoint overlooking both of the Waterton Lakes occupies a crest on Mt Crandell – a peak that the Piikani called Bear Mountain.

Bertha Falls, Bay, Lake & Peak: (2450 m/ 8038 ft) Bertha Ekelund was an early Waterton resident, who became a local star during the Prohibition era. She was the sometime companion of Joe Cosley, a prospector, trapper, guide and one of the first rangers hired by Glacier National Park (USA). Legend has it that Cosley named a lake for her. It had been known as Spirit Lake.

Mount Boswell: Named for a surgeon Dr. W.G. Boswell with the British Boundary Commission in 1917.

Cameron Bay & Falls: Captain Donald Roderick Cameron served as the British Commissioner to the Northern Boundary Commission, from 1872-1874.

Mount Cleveland: (3190 m/ 10466 ft) The highest mountain in Glacier National Park, MT, commemorates Stephen Grover Cleveland who, with terms beginning in 1885 and 1893, twice served as president of the US. The mountain rises more than a vertical mile above the shores of Upper Waterton Lake. Its summit is about 8 km south of the Canada/US border.

Mount Crandell: (2384 m/ 7822 ft) The Piikani name for this peak translates as Great Bear Mountain. However, the European name honours Edward Crandell, a Calgary industrialist of the late 19th century, who operated oil wells along Cameron Creek.

Crypt Lake & Landing: The Greek “krypte” and Latin “crypta” each mean “hidden place.” Crypt Lake is concealed in a side valley. The lake also drains underground through channels concealed in the limestone bedrock.

Emerald Bay: The official application for the use of this name in 1974 made formal the obvious about this sheltered bay.

Goat Haunt: This area of Montana includes the Goat Haunt ranger station and the headwaters of the Waterton River. The mountain goat was the symbol of the Great Northern Railway. The name may be based on the Blackfoot words “apomahkihkini ozitakaiihi,” meaning “where there are a lot of goats”.

Linnet Lake: The common linnet is an Old-World bird species. Applied to this small kettle pond, the name probably refers to