Mount Revelstoke National Park

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Mount Revelstoke National Park
Wet meadow in the highlands of the park
Wet meadow in the highlands of the park
Mount Revelstoke National Park (Canada)
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Coordinates: 51 ° 3 ′ 0 ″  N , 118 ° 9 ′ 0 ″  W.
Location: British Columbia , Canada
Next city: Revelstoke
Surface: 260 km²
Founding: 1914
Visitors: 795,749 (2016/2017)
Giant Cedar Trail
Giant Cedar Trail
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The Mount Revelstoke National Park ( English Mount Revelstoke National Park of Canada , French Parc national du Canada Mont-Revelstoke ) is a national park in the Canadian province of British Columbia . It is located in the Selkirk Mountains , a mountain range of the Columbia Mountains and offers visitors the experience of different vegetation levels and an impressive view of the neighboring mountain ranges.

geography

The park is located east of the city of Revelstoke , northeast of the confluence of the Illecillewaet River in the Columbia River , on the Trans-Canada Highway and is ignored by many travelers because it is on the way to Glacier National Park and the well-known parks on the main ridge of the Rocky Mountains ( Kootenay , Yoho , Banff and Jasper ) is located. With an area of ​​260 km² it is one of the smaller national parks in Canada. Because of its location in the high mountains, it is only fully accessible in the summer months from July to September. The park is mainly accessed by a spur road, the Mount Revelstoke Summit Road , which leads over a length of 26 km through three levels of vegetation almost to the summit of Mount Revelstoke (1860 m). Several hiking trails and short circular routes lead from the cul-de-sac. There is a fire observation tower at the highest point of the plateau. Hiking trails lead from the summit over the almost tree-free summit plateau to Miller Lake , a dead lake , and to Eva Lake , where there are also simple campsites. The high plateau offers a wide view to the east over the Columbia River to the Monashee Mountains , to the west to the Selkirk Mountains with the Rogers Pass and Mount Dawson ( 3377  m ) in the neighboring Glacier National Park and to the Clachnacudainn Icefield in the northeast. At 2651  m , Mount Inverness is the highest point in the park.

Flora and fauna

The world's only temperate rainforest in the inland is located at the lowest elevation up to around 1300 m . This ecosystem is dependent on precipitation of more than 2000 mm per year - a value that is otherwise only achieved on the coast of the sea. Thanks to the water-rich plains in front of the Columbia Mountains, westerly winds carry enough moisture with them that they rain down enough incline rain for a rainforest when climbing the first mountain range . The forest consists of giant trees of life , which can reach an age of up to 800 years under optimal conditions, and hemlocks . Where there is sufficient sunlight on the ground, the pacific yew and hedgehog kernels grow . The Giant Cedar Trail on the eastern edge of the park directly on Highway 1, a circular path on planks of only 500 m in length opens up the forest to visitors. In the marshy valley of the Illecillewaet River in the south of the park, swamp forests grow with a thicket of poplars, individual cedars and an undergrowth of horsetail , sedges and American skunk cabbage . A nature trail on wooden walkways, the Skunk Cabbage Loop in the east of the park, also leads through this area . At the end there is an observation deck which is a good bird watching point. The middle, subalpine zone between 1,300 m and 1,800 m initially still has a few deciduous trees, mainly ash-maple , which change into a pure coniferous forest with increasing altitude. The hemlock dominates here, alongside rock mountain firs and Engelmann spruces . Bearded lichens hang from the trees and provide food for forest caribou in winter, when the forest is under a high blanket of snow for eight months . Near the tree line around 1800 m, the forest loosens and changes to the almost treeless summit plateau. In the middle of August the mountain meadows are in full bloom, especially with Indian paintbrush , arnica , mountain valerian , daisy and dog-tooth lily . The protection of the meadows was the reason for the establishment of the protected area. The one-kilometer-long Meadows in the Sky Trail leads through the meadows .

The park is home to a small herd of endangered forest caribou. Other mammal species in the park include grizzly bears , black bears , mountain goats and wolverines . Because of the high snowfall in winter, elk and other deer can only be found in the lower, bushy forests on the edge of the park. The park is particularly known for its bird life, which is most numerous in May and June. Of the 235 bird species counted, only 30 winter in the park area.

history

As early as 1908, the magnificent flower meadows in the immediate vicinity of the city of Revelstoke prompted the city to build a path to the summit and to the mountain lakes of Mount Revelstoke. A group of Revelstoke citizens applied to the provincial and federal governments to upgrade the route to Summit Road. Influential citizens saw the area's potential for tourism, so they applied for the establishment of a national park on Mount Revelstoke. The application was successful and the national park was established in 1914. Meadows-in-the-Sky Parkway was built between 1911 and 1927. Mount Revelstoke was also internationally known for its natural hill , on which several world records were achieved. From 1915 until the late 1960s competitions were held on the hill. In 1969 the ski jump was closed and skiing was relocated to facilities outside the park. The old facility can now be viewed as the Nels Helsen Historic Area , named after a Norwegian immigrant who founded a ski club in Revelstoke in 1914. During the First World War, an internment camp for so-called hostile foreigners was built in the area of ​​the national park . The camp was completed in September 1915 and 225 internees, mostly immigrants from the then Austro-Hungarian Ukraine , moved in. Originally, the camp inmates were supposed to be used to expand Summit Road, but due to the amount of snow in winter, the camp inmates were more busy clearing snow and making firewood than building roads. Since the water supply was also not guaranteed, the inmates were transferred to Camp Otter in Yoho National Park on December 20, 1915 , and the camp on Mount Revelstoke was closed. An information board in the park reminds of the camp.
The park has been supported by a development association, Friends of Mount Revelstoke and Glacier, since 1986. The association is also a support association for the Glacier National Park.

Tourist facilities

Compared to other Canadian national parks, there is little tourist infrastructure in the park, such as no campsites accessible by car or mobile home, and no visitor center of its own. The Summit Road to the summit is accessible for cars up to the parking lot at Balsam Lake at an altitude of 1500 meters. From there, a shuttle bus continues to the summit in summer, and the one kilometer long Meadows in the Sky Trail on the summit plateau is paved. Ten different hiking trails lead through the park, the Giant Cedars Trail and the Skunk Cabbage Trail are nature trails, partly on wooden planks, through the jungle. Because of the large amount of snow, the park is a popular destination for ski tourers in winter. The park administration is located in Revelstoke.

literature

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Parks Canada Attendance 2016-2017 , visitors are counted with Glacier National Park
  2. ^ Canada National Park High Points. Peakbagger.com, accessed August 28, 2020 .