The Britannia Range is a subrange of the North Shore Mountains

North Shore Mountains

The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city....

, running along the east flank of Howe Sound

Howe Sound

Howe Sound is a roughly triangular sound, actually a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver.-Geography:Howe Sound's mouth at the Strait of Georgia is situated between West Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast. The sound is triangular shaped, open on its southeast towards the...

 just north of Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The range begins in the Deeks Lake/Hanover Mountain area to the north of Brunswick Mountain, which is the highest of the summits of the Cypress Mountain

Cypress Mountain

- External links :* *...

 ski area at Cypress Provincial Park

Cypress Provincial Park

Cypress Provincial Park is a Provincial Park on the North Shore of Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. The park has two sections: a 21 km² southern section which is accessible by road, and a 9 km² northern section which is only accessible by hiking trails...

 above West Vancouver, though that summit is not in the range. The range is bounded by the Stawamus River

Stawamus River

The Stawamus River is a small, creek-like river in British Columbia. It enters the Howe Sound east of the mouth of the Squamish River.- Course :...

 to the north, Loch Lomond on the upper Seymour River, and is the source of the name of Britannia Beach which is towards its northern end.

The range's name was conferred by Captain Richards

George Henry Richards

Admiral Sir George Henry Richards was Hydrographer to the British Admiralty from 1864 to 1874.-Early life:Richards was born in Anthony, Cornwall, the son of Captain G S Richards, and joined the navy in 1832....

 after the 100-gun HMS Britannia

HMS Britannia (1762)

HMS Britannia was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was ordered on 25 April 1751 from Portsmouth Dockyard to the draught specified in the 1745 Establishment. Her keel was laid down on 1 July 1751 and she was launched on 19 October 1762. The cost of building and fitting...

, which saw action at the Battle of St. Vincent, 1797 and the Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....

, 1805. Mountains within the range allude to British royalty - Hanover and Windsor for the respective dynasties. The range includes Sky Pilot Mountain, a horn-shaped summit prominently visible to southbound traffic on BC Highway 99

British Columbia provincial highway 99

Highway 99, also known as the Sea to Sky Highway, the Squamish Highway, Route 99, or Whistler Highway, is the major north-south artery running through the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia from the U.S. border, up Howe Sound through the Sea to Sky Country to Lillooet, and connecting to...

 on the descent from Whistler

Whistler, British Columbia

Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver...

 to Squamish

Squamish, British Columbia

Squamish is a community and a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located at the north end of Howe Sound on the Sea to Sky Highway...

.