Geography
Rogers Pass is a narrow valley surrounded by a number of mountains. It is formed by the headwaters of the Illecillewaet River to the west and by the Beaver River to the east. Both of these rivers are tributaries of the Columbia River, which loops about 240 km around to the north of the pass. It was named after Major Rogers who first surveyed the pass.
Rogers Pass is known for its winter snowfall, which amounts to about 10 m per year. Because of steep mountains, avalanches are very common in winter. When the railway first went over the pass, 31 snow sheds with a total length of about 6.5 km were built to protect the railway from the avalanches. Snow sheds for the Trans-Canada Highway were built later, including large ones in 1962. To keep the Highway open during the winter, the Royal Canadian Artillery uses 105 mm howitzers to knock down the avalanches under controlled circumstances so traffic is not caught in unexpected avalanches.
Read more about this topic: Rogers Pass (British Columbia)
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