Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park
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Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park
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 One of the old "Othello" railway tunnels |
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| location | British Columbia (Canada) | |
| surface | 159 hectares | |
| WDPA ID | 65150 | |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 22 ′ N , 121 ° 22 ′ W | |
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| Sea level | from 100 m to 430 m | |
| Setup date | May 15, 1986 | |
| administration | BC parks | |
| particularities | Five tunnels ( Othello Tunnel ) of the former Kettle Valley Railway | |
The Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park is a 159 hectare Provincial Park in the south of the Canadian province of British Columbia . The park is located about 8 kilometers east of Hope on Highway 5 (Coquihalla Highway) in the Fraser Valley Regional District .
investment
Most of the park is located on the northern bank of the Coquihalla River , which follows the flank of a 430 m high mountain. A small portion of the park area is also on the southern bank of the river, which has created a deep canyon in the surrounding landscape.
The park is traversed by the Kettle Valley Trail. The trail follows a stretch of the former Kettle Valley Railway , a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) , and crosses the Coquihalla River twice in the park. The river crossings are each between two rail tunnels.
The park is a category III protected area ( natural monument ).
history
The park was established as a recreation area in 1986 and was only 151 hectares in size when it was founded. Over time, not only were the park boundaries redefined and the park grew, but the park was also converted into a Provincial Park (Class A Park) .
The name Othello Tunnel is derived from the former station at the exit of the northernmost tunnel. According to a local story, the CPR's tunneling engineer, Andrew McCullough, is said to have been an avid reader of Shakespeare and therefore used names like Lear, Jessica, Portia, Iago, Romeo and Juliet to describe the stations of the Kettle Valley Railway in addition to Othello to name.
Flora and fauna
Within the British Columbia ecosystem, the park area is assigned to the Coastal Western Hemlock Zone .
In the park there are mainly species such as the Douglas fir , the giant arborvitae and of course the West American hemlock , but occasionally also Oregon maple and alder . The raspberry , poisonous bracken and sword fern (Polystichum munitum) are found in the understory .
The detectable animal species correspond to the location and size of the park. Mainly smaller species of mammals and birds can be found in the area. The Coquihalla River provides habitat for the ketal salmon , silver salmon and sockeye salmon .
activities
Due to the small size of the park, the focus is on protecting the historic tunnel system from 1914 and less on tourist activities. The park was originally founded as a recreation area and later converted into a provincial park, but the offer was not upgraded any further. Therefore it does have a parking lot, but no parking spaces for campers and tents and only a simple sanitary facility.
The park's tourist attraction is the Kettle Valley Trail with its hiking opportunities, and a section of the 18,078-kilometer Trans Canada Trail crosses the park.
Due to the local situation, the park is only open from the beginning of April to the end of October. The rest of the time, the risk of ice and ice fall as well as rock falls is too high and the park is therefore closed.
Trivia
Scenes for the film Rambo with Sylvester Stallone were filmed in the park (Rambo is hanging on a rock while a gunman from a helicopter tries to shoot him).
Web links
- Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
- Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park . In: English language website of the park at BC Parks
- Information park on britishcolumbia.com (Engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Coquihalla Canyon Park (English)
- ^ Coquihalla Canyon Recreation Area - Master Plan. (PDF; 410 kB) BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks , July 1987, accessed on November 8, 2012 (English).
- ^ Ecosystems of British Columbia. (PDF; 9.85 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations , February 1991, accessed on November 8, 2012 .