Jasper National Park

Jasper National Park
Maligne Lake
Coordinates: 52 ° 50 ′ 33.3 "  N , 118 ° 2 ′ 53.1"  W.
Location:	Alberta , Canada
Next city:	Jasper
Surface:	10,878 km²
Founding:	1907
Visitors:	2,345,130 (2016/2017)
Address:	Jasper National Park Box 10 Jasper, AB Tel. [phone]

Located in the Canadian province of Alberta , Jasper National Park ( English Jasper National Park of Canada , French Parc national du Canada Jasper ) was founded in 1907 and, with an area of 10,878 km², is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies . The national park was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, along with Banff National Park , Kootenay National Park and Yoho National Park as part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks . The park is an IUCN Category II (National Park) protected area .

The park is named after Jasper Hawes , who maintained a base for the North West Company .

History of origin

At the beginning of the 19th century there was a fur trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company at what is now Jasper , which was not officially established until 1914 - seven years after the establishment of Jasper National Park.

Sunwapta Falls

The Athabasca Glacier, part of the Columbia Ice Field in Jasper National Park

Athabasca Falls

fauna

In the park there are numerous large mammals such as moose , elk , mule deer , bighorn sheep , mountain goat , Puma , black bear and grizzly bear , as well as lynx , wolves and coyotes . The rare forest caribou still live in the valley of the Maligne River . Some of the animals are not shy, especially the elk run unabashedly through the village of Jasper and eat the flowers in the front gardens.

Attractions

• Athabasca River - 1,231 kilometer long river that flows through the national park
• Athabasca Falls - waterfalls that have cut their way through the rock
• Athabasca Glacier - Glacier that can be skied with so-called snow coaches and belongs to the Columbia Ice Field
• Columbia Ice Field - 325 km ^{2 of} glacier area
• Columbia River - 1,953 km long river that flows through the national park
• Horseshoe Lake - smaller lake
• Icefields Parkway - 231 km long highway from Jasper to Banff through the middle of the Rocky Mountains
• Jasper - a village with a population of almost 4,000 and located at an altitude of 1067  m
• Maligne Canyon - narrow, up to 55 meters deep canyon with hiking trails
• Maligne Lake - largest (22 kilometers long) and deepest (97 meters) lake in the park with the most famous photo opportunity in the park (Spirit Island)
• Medicine Lake - popular excursion lake on the road to Maligne Lake with an underground drain
• Miette Hot Springs - hot springs whose water is directed into a swimming pool
• Mount Edith Cavell - 3363  m high mountain southwest of the village of Jasper
• North Saskatchewan River - 1,287 km long river that flows through the national park
• Pyramid Lake - popular excursion lake near the village of Jasper
• Yellowhead Pass - historic site and lookout point
• Whistlers Mountain - 2285  m high panoramic mountain near the village of Jasper
• The Glacier Skywalk , a viewpoint that juts out over an abyss and has been accessible for a fee since May 2014, based on the model of the Grand Canyon Skywalk in Arizona.

In 2011, 11,228 km² around the national park was also designated as a Dark Sky Preserve ( light protection area , Jasper Dark Sky Preserve ).

See also

• National parks in Canada

Web links

Commons : Jasper National Park  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Jasper National Park , on Parks Canada , (English, French)
• Jasper National Park ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
• Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks. World Heritage Committee , accessed May 9, 2016 . 
2. ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Jasper National Park (English)
3. ↑ William Riley, Laura Riley: Nature's Strongholds. The World's Great Wildlife Reserves. Princeton University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-691-12219-9
4. ↑ Skywalk website
5. ^ Edmonton Journal: Four things to know about the Glacier Skywalk ( Memento of May 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), April 28, 2014
6. ^ Welt Online: New test of courage for those with a head for heights in Canada , May 1, 2014
7. ^ Royal Astronomical Society of Canada : Dark-Sky Site Designations . rasc.ca → RASC Programs → Light-Pollution Abatement (with card).