author
Warburton Pike
1861–1915
Drawn by wild country and long canoe journeys, this English explorer-writer became one of the memorable early voices describing northern Canada. His travel books mix adventure, close observation, and a real feel for life on the land.
1 Audiobook
The Barren Ground of Northern Canada
by Warburton Pike
About the author
Born in Wareham, Dorset, in 1861, Warburton Mayer Pike was an English explorer and author best known for his travels in British Columbia and the Canadian North. Reliable sources describe him as an explorer of British Columbia and the Canadian Arctic, and his writing grew directly out of those expeditions.
His best-known books are The Barren Ground of Northern Canada (1892) and Through the Subarctic Forest (1896). A later biographical article in Arctic calls The Barren Ground of Northern Canada a classic account, reflecting the lasting reputation of his northern travels.
Pike also had ties to coastal British Columbia: a mountain on Saturna Island, Mount Warburton Pike, was named after him, and reference sources note that he held land there in the 1880s. He died in 1915, leaving behind a compact but enduring body of adventure writing centered on northern landscapes, travel, and wildlife.