Mount Benson

Mount Benson (Halkomelem: Tatch-to-lan, Taitookton; Chinook jargon: Wakesiah) is a mountain located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia located 9 km (5.6 mi) west of Nanaimo. At one time, there was road access to the peak as there was a fire lookout at the summit. Today, the road is closed to vehicles but the mountain has become popular with local hikers as it has great views of the Strait of Georgia, the mainland Coast Mountains of British Columbia, the Nanaimo River valley, and the Vancouver Island Ranges, including Mount Arrowsmith. Mount Benson was named in 1859 by Captain Richards, RN, after his friend Alfred Robson Benson, MD, a physician from Whitby (Yorkshire), who was in the Hudson's Bay Company service 1857–62. During the last ice age, most of Vancouver Island was covered in a sheet of ice almost 2 kilometres thick, including the area around Mount Benson. Only peaks above that, such as nearby Mount Arrowsmith, poked through the ice sheet. The movement of the ice rounded off lower mountains like Mount Benson giving them the rounded shape they have today. Peaks above the ice sheet remained jagged. Most of the summit is relatively flat and rounded with several small lakes, surrounded by clearcuts.