The
Columbia Mountains are a group of mountain ranges located in southeastern
British Columbia, and partially in
Montana,
Idaho and
Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km² (52,491 sq mi). The range is bounded by the
Rocky Mountain Trench on the east, and the
Kootenay River on the south; their western boundary is the edge of the
Interior Plateau. Seventy-five percent of the range is located in Canada and the remaining twenty-five percent in the
United States; American geographic classifications place the Columbia Mountains as part of the
Rocky Mountains complex, but this designation does not apply in Canada (despite a British Columbia government tourism campaign to rebrand their southern portion as the "Kootenay Rockies").
Mount Sir Sandford is the highest mountain in the range, reaching .