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| Christmas Mountains | |
|---|---|
 North Pole Stream, a tributary to the Little Southwest Miramichi River in north-central New Brunswick, Canada | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 750 m (2,460 ft) |
| Coordinates | 47°10′N 66°40′W / 47.167°N 66.667°W |
| Geography | |
  Christmas Mountains Location in New Brunswick | |
| Location | Northumberland County, New Brunswick |
| Parent range | Appalachian Mountains |
| Topo map | NTS 21O2 Serpentine Lake |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Hike |
The Christmas Mountains are a series of rounded peaks in northern New Brunswick, Canada, at the headwaters of North Pole Stream and the Little Southwest Miramichi River, west of Big Bald Mountain, and south of Mount Carleton. The mountains, in part, separate the Miramichi River watershed from the watersheds of the Serpentine River and the Nepisiguit River.
In 1964, Arthur F. Wightman named the range and peaks after noting that the previously unnamed peaks lay near the source of North Pole Stream, hence this sub-range of the Appalachians has been named after the Christian holiday of Christmas.
The ten peaks are:[1]
- North Pole Mountain (690 m (2,264 ft)) (47°11′39″N 66°40′00″W / 47.19417°N 66.66667°W)
- Mount St. Nicholas (625 m (2,051 ft)) (47°10′9″N 66°40′24″W / 47.16917°N 66.67333°W)
- Mount Dasher (750 m (2,461 ft)) (47°11′48″N 66°44′14″W / 47.19667°N 66.73722°W)
- Mount Dancer (670 m (2,198 ft)) (47°09′53″N 66°42′51″W / 47.16472°N 66.71417°W)
- Mount Prancer (580 m (1,903 ft)) (47°8′00″N 66°40′56″W / 47.13333°N 66.68222°W)
- Mount Vixen (650 m (2,133 ft)) (47°8′15″N 66°43′28″W / 47.13750°N 66.72444°W)
- Mount Comet (550 m (1,804 ft)) (47°7′00″N 66°38′36″W / 47.11667°N 66.64333°W)
- Mount Cupid (530 m (1,739 ft)) (47°9′01″N 66°36′36″W / 47.15028°N 66.61000°W)
- Mount Donder (730 m (2,395 ft)) (47°10′47″N 66°36′10″W / 47.17972°N 66.60278°W)
- Mount Blitzen (670 m (2,198 ft)) (47°10′50″N 66°37′50″W / 47.18056°N 66.63056°W)
The eight latter names commemorate Santa Claus's reindeer as named in the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement Clarke Moore. The poem reads in part:
With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles, his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:
Now Dasher! Now Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder[2] and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!
Although a ninth reindeer was later added to Santa Claus' team in the popular 1949 Christmas song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", no peak was named for Rudolph.[3][4][5][6]
- ^ Precise locations estimated from Google Earth, maximum elevations from Toporama, Natural Resources Canada
- ^ 'Donner' was originally spelt 'Donder', but has changed over time.
- ^ Rayburn, A. (1975) Geographical Names of New Brunswick. "Toponymy Study 2". Surveys and Mapping Branch, Energy, Mines and Resources Canada, Ottawa.
- ^ Geographical Names of Canada Archived February 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ New Brunswick "What's in a Name"
- ^ New Brunswick Atlas, Second Edition