Long Range Mountains | Map, Elevation, Hiking, Trails, Wildlife | Britannica (original) (raw)

Long Range Mountains, highest range on the island of Newfoundland, Canada, extending about 250 miles (400 km) northward from Cape Ray along the western shore. The mountains have an average elevation of nearly 2,200 feet (670 meters) and a maximum height of 2,670 feet (814 meters) in the Lewis Hills, southwest of Corner Brook. Their relatively uniform summits represent the remnants of an ancient peneplain that has undergone periods of uplift and erosion. Gros Morne (2,644 feet), northeast of Bonne Bay, is the central mountain feature of the 750-square-mile (1,942-square-km) Gros Morne National Park, with its numerous lakes, fjords, and wooded valleys and coast. The Humber is the only major river that rises in the range, and it traverses the mountains in a semicircular course to the west coast. Although not highly mineralized, the mountains are densely forested and support large pulp- and paper-milling operations such as the one in Corner Brook. The southern section around Table Mountain (1,699 feet [518 meters]) is notorious for violent winds (measured at up to 120 miles [193 km] per hour) funneled from the open sea.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.