Stawamus Chief

Stawamus Chief
Stawamus Chief, second peak seen from the first
Highest point
Elevation	702 m (2,303 ft)[1]
Prominence	417 m (1,368 ft)[1]
Listing	Mountains of British Columbia
Coordinates	49°41′02″N 123°08′30″W / 49.68389°N 123.14167°W / 49.68389; -123.14167[2]
Geography
Stawamus Chief Location in British Columbia
Location in Stawamus Chief Provincial Park
Location	British Columbia, Canada
District	New Westminster Land District
Parent range	Pacific Ranges
Topo map	NTS 92G11 Squamish[2]
Geology
Rock age(s)	Formed Late Cretaceous Exposed Holocene
Mountain type	Granite dome
Climbing
First ascent	Prehistoric
Easiest route	Hike

The Stawamus Chief, officially Stawamus Chief Mountain^[2] (often referred to as simply The Chief, or less commonly Squamish Chief), is a granitic dome located adjacent to the town of Squamish, British Columbia, Canada. It towers over 700 m (2,297 ft) above the waters of nearby Howe Sound. It is one of the largest granite monoliths in the world.^[3]

The Squamish, the indigenous people from this area, consider the Chief to be a place of spiritual significance. The Squamish language name for the mountain is Siy̓ám̓ Smánit. Siy̓ám̓ is usually translated as "chief", though it is really a social ranking), and their traditions say it is a longhouse transformed to stone by Xáays, as the Transformer Brothers are known in this language. The great cleft in the mountain's cliff-face in Squamish legend is a mark of corrosion left by the skin of Sínulhka, a giant two-headed sea serpent.^[2]

The mountain gets its name from the Squamish village near its foot, Stawamus (Stʼa7mes), as is also the case with the Stawamus River and Stawamus Lake, though the pronunciation of the village name is different from that commonly used in English - IPA: [ˈstʼɑːʔməs] is an approximation of the Squamish language, vs /stəˈwɑːmʊs/ as commonly used in English.^{[citation needed]}.