Glacier National Park (Canada)

Glacier National Park (Canada)
Rogers Pass and Hermit Range in Glacier National Park
Coordinates: 51 ° 17 ′ 15.7 "  N , 117 ° 29 ′ 16.1"  W.
Location:	British Columbia , Canada
Next city:	Revelstoke
Surface:	1,349 km²
Founding:	1886
Visitors:	795,749 (2016/2017)
Address:	Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks Of Canada Box 350 Revelstoke, BC Canada V0E 2S0
Remains of the Glacier House
Illecillewaet River

Rogers Pass
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     220   -6 -11     134   -4 -10     110   2 -6     81   7th -3     75   11 0     90   16 4th     95   20th 6th     88   20th 6th     91   14th 3     138   5 -1     197   -3 -6     177   -7 -11 Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000. In: Environment and Climate Change Canada . Retrieved March 28, 2018 .

The Glacier National Park ( English Glacier National Park of Canada , French Parc national du Canada des Glaciers ) is one of seven national parks in the Canadian province of British Columbia . The park is about 18 kilometers east of Mount Revelstoke National Park and is 1349 km² in size. Glacier National Park is largely located in the Selkirk Mountains and to a lesser extent in the Purcell Mountains , two mountain ranges of the Columbia Mountains . Over 50% of the park area is above the tree line of 2000 meters, twelve percent of the park is covered by ice and glaciers all year round . Up to 17 meters of fresh snow falls in the park every year, this amount of snow is among the most productive in the world and feeds over 400 glaciers. In the middle of the park, the Trans-Canada Highway runs over the Rogers Pass , which is protected as a National Historic Site of Canada because of its importance in the construction of the first transcontinental railroad by the Canadian Pacific Railway . The park is an IUCN Category II ( National Park ) protected area .

geology

The park is primarily located in the Selkirk Mountains, a mountain range of the Columbia Mountains. The mountains began to unfold 175 million years ago and are older than the Rocky Mountains to the east . Part of the mountains consisted of sediments that were pressure-turned into shale and quartzite and now form the craggy peaks of Sir Donald , Mount Rogers , Mount Tupper and other mountains in the park. The fault lines created by the mountain folding formed deeply cut valleys. The Beaver River in the eastern half of the park separates the Selkirk Mountains from the Purcell Mountains. The highest mountain in the park is Mount Dawson, 3390  m high . In the Balu Valley is the Nakimu Cave, discovered in 1904, a cave system that has been explored over a length of 5900 meters and is one of the largest in Canada. The cave lies in a limestone layer and was formed by rain and melt water from the Cougar Brook , which disappears into the caves.

climate

Mild, precipitation-rich air masses move from the Pacific over the park area, where the precipitation rains down as heavy rain in summer and heavy snowfall in winter. The amounts of snow are among the highest in the world, with the westerly winds leading to relatively moderate temperatures even in winter.

Flora and fauna

The rough climate, the large amounts of snow and the steep mountain slopes only allow a closed vegetation cover in the lower valley areas. In the lowest park zones, due to the high rainfall, the only rainforest in the temperate latitudes grows inland. The jungle consists of giant arborvitae , white pines and West American hemlocks with a dense undergrowth of hedgehog herb and ferns. The deeply cut valleys in the interior of the park are densely forested with Engelmann spruce and rocky mountain fir . The Engelmann spruces in the Beaver River valley are up to 1000 years old. The forests are severely interrupted by avalanche lines, on which lush flower meadows bloom in spring and summer. Above the tree line from 2000 meters there is no longer any closed vegetation, only alpine plants such as saxifrages . Most of the areas above this altitude consist of rock and glaciers. The park administration counts 54 mammal and 183 bird species within the park. Black bears , grizzlies and wolverines live in the park's forests . Beavers and muskrats can be found in the Beaver River valley and a small herd of elk can be found here. Forest caribou live in the higher elevations, around 300 mountain goats live in the rocky area , plus ice-gray marmots and pikas, as well as birds such as ptarmigan and rose-bellied snowfinch .

Tourist facilities

The park's visitor center is located at Rogers Pass. Close to the pass is the one-kilometer-long Abandoned Rails Trail , where you can visit old railway systems and avalanche protection structures. Several paths lead from the highway to lookout points on glaciers or railway systems. There are three campsites in the park with over 90 spaces, and the Glacier Park Lodge on Rogers Pass is open all year round. Ten hiking trails lead through the park, some of which were laid out by sport climbers at the beginning of the 20th century. The American Alpine Club counts the park among the best-known classic climbing regions in North America with climbing routes on rock and ice in all degrees of difficulty.

history

Glacier National Park was founded in 1886 at the same time as Yoho National Park to the east . The Canadian Pacific Railway had just completed the first transcontinental connection, which was of enormous importance to the young nation of Canada. The mountains along the railway line promised enormous potential for tourism, so parts of it were placed under protection as a national park. The railway company built the Glacier House to take care of the train passengers, but it not only offered accommodation and a restaurant, but was soon also a popular destination for tourists. The park is the birthplace of sport climbing in North America when the British mountaineers William Spotswood Green and Henry Swanzy undertook the first climbing tours in the park in 1888 . In 1899, Swiss mountain guides were recruited who laid out paths to lookout points and gave climbing lessons to guests in the Glacier House.

In 1904 the hunter and prospector Charles Deutschmann discovered a cave not far from Glacier House, which he called Nakimu Cave . The name comes from the Shuswap language and means murmuring spirits , because the sound of flowing water can be heard constantly in the cave. Deutschmann sold his rights to the cave to the state in 1909 and was employed as a guard and guide. This made him the first official guide in a Canadian national park. The cave was opened up to a length of over 100 meters by bridges and footbridges and was used for tourism until the 1920s, but interest declined with the closure of the nearby Glacier House. In 1935 the cave was completely closed to the public. The entrance to the cave is in an area heavily frequented by grizzly bears, the bridges and stairs made by Deutschmann have been removed.

The steep rise in the pass for trains and the danger of avalanches, which led to several accidents, prompted the railway company to build the more than eight kilometers long Connaught Tunnel , which runs under the Rogers Pass and was completed in 1916. In 1925 the Glacier House was closed and the park's tourist use declined significantly.

The completion of the Trans-Canada Highway in 1962 made the park a destination for car tourists. The park administration created picnic areas, campsites and other tourist facilities. In 1971, the Rogers Pass was declared a National Historic Site, making the three campsites on Rogers Pass one of the few places in Canada where camping in a National Historic Site is allowed. Since 1986 the park has been supported by a development association, the Friends of Mount Revelstoke and Glacier . The association is also the support association for Mount Revelstoke National Park. The association runs a book and souvenir shop on Rogers Pass.

literature

• Peter Mertz: Travel Guide Nature Canada. Munich: BLV, 1996, ISBN 3-405-14817-0

Web links

Commons : Glacier National Park  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• Glacier National Park , on Parks Canada , (English, French)
• Glacier National Park ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
• britishcolumbia.com Parks information
• Homepage of the Friends' Association

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Parks Canada Attendance 2016-2017 , visitors are counted with Mount Revelstoke National Park
2. ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Glacier National Park of Canada (English)
3. ^ Canada National Park High Points. Peakbagger.com, accessed August 28, 2020 . 
4. ^ The American Alpine Club Climber's Guide to the Columbia Mountains of Canada Central (1992), p. 213