Mount Arrowsmith is the highest mountain east of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. Its dominant rock is basalt. The mountain is contained within the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region and as of September 18, 2009 is designated part of 1,300 ha hectare Mt. Arrowsmith Massif Regional Park.

History

The mountain is named kał-ka-č’ałḥ (Kulth-ka-choolth) meaning Jagged Points Facing Upward in the Tseshaht Nuu-chah-nulth languages. The first recorded ascent by colonists was made by botanist John Macoun in 1887 led by local Indigenous guide Qualicum Tom and his son James Thomas. Macoun was a botanist to the Geological Survey of Canada. Mount Waddington was first seen from the peak of Mount Arrowsmith by Don and Phyllis Munday in 1925 (see also Mount Munday). The mountain was named about 1853 by Captain Richards for cartographers, Aaron Arrowsmith and his nephew John Arrowsmith.

Biogeoclimatic zones

Mount Arrowsmith has three main biogeoclimatic zones. On the windward, wetter west-facing slopes the Coastal Western Hemlock zone occurs up to 1,050 m, where it grades into the Mountain Hemlock zone. This forms a continuous forest up to 1,300 m; above is a parkland phase which grades into the Alpine Tundra zone at 1,600 m. The leeward, east-facing slopes are warmer thanks to more sunshine, and all zone boundaries are higher by 50 m.