The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range originating in Idaho and Washington, and extending into SEBritish Columbia. They begin at Mica Peak near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and extend approximately 320 kmN from the border. The range is roughly bounded by the Columbia river. The Selkirks are distinct from, and geologically older than, the Rocky Mountains.
The Selkirks were named after Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk.
Though often spoken of as part of the Rocky Mountain system, they are really distinct, and belong to an older geological epoch, consisting mainly of crystalline or highly metamorphosed rocks, granites, gneiss, schists; their outline too is rounder and less serrated than that of the Rockies.
On the S.E. is the Purcell range, with the main chain of the Rockies still farther E., and on the W. the Gold range, prolonged northward as the Cariboo Mountains.
The Selkirks are crossed by the railway at Rogers Pass, discovered in 1883.
In northern Idaho, the Selkirks begin rather abruptly, but the most striking part of the range is in British Columbia, especially north of the small city of Nelson.
Battle Mountain in the Battle Range of the Selkirks.
In British Columbia, the Selkirks are paralleled by two equally spectacular chains of mountains -- the Purcells and the Monashees.
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