Strathcona Provincial Park
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Strathcona Provincial Park
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 The Forbidden Plateau |
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| location | British Columbia (Canada) | |
| surface | 2458 km² | |
| WDPA ID | 65425 | |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 52 ' N , 125 ° 45' W | |
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| Setup date | March 1, 1911 | |
| administration | BC parks | |
| particularities |
oldest provincial park in BC ; Parts of the park are biosphere reserves |
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The Strathcona Provincial Park is the largest park on Vancouver Iceland . It extends over an area of 2,458 km² and is also the oldest of the "Provincial Parks" in British Columbia (founded in 1911). It was named after Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal , a Canadian railroad pioneer and banker and philanthropist .
Much of the park is in the Strathcona Regional District . Small parts of the park are also in the Comox Valley Regional District .
investment
The park is located relatively in the center of Vancouver Island. The largest lake in the park is Buttle Lake (28 km²), named after Commander John Buttle, who was one of the first to explore the area in the 1860s. The 440 m high Della Falls (named after his wife by prospector and trapper Joe Drinkwater in 1899) are among the highest waterfalls in Canada. The highest point of Vancouver Island is the 2198 m high Golden Hinde , similar high are Elkhorn Mountain ( 2166 m ), Mount Colonel Foster ( 2129 m ) and Mount Albert Edward ( 2093 m ).
In addition to the actual park, the Strathcona Provincial Park also includes two other parts, which are enclosed by the park or are directly adjacent to it. On the one hand there is the enclosed part of the park Strathcona - Westminster and on the other hand the adjacent part Strathcona - Megin / Talbot.
In the western park area, the park includes three water catchment areas belonging to the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve , established in 2000 . The Great Central Lake is south of the park .
The park is basically a category II protected area ( national park ). The Strathcona - Westminster part of the park is, however, a category V protected area ( landscape protection area ) and the Strathcona - Megin / Talbot part of the park is a category Ia ( strict nature reserve ).
history
Commander John Buttle , the namesake of Buttle Lake, surveyed the area in the 1860s. In the 1890s, the provincial government carried out the first investigations for the construction of the E&N Railway and awarded the necessary land. Robert Dunsmuir's company received the entire area in return for the construction of the railway, which was to extend from Muir Creek, near Sooke on the southern edge of the island in a straight line to Crown Mountain . All land east of this line went to society. However, the line was never built beyond Courtenay. Nevertheless, this line became the park's eastern border in 1911.
In 1894 and 1896, Reverend William W. Bolton, in connection with his explorations, aroused the interest of the Prime Minister of British Columbia in the establishment of a park. In the following years, measurements, documentation and, above all, photographs were made on a larger scale for the first time.
Mining enterprises started in the region as early as 1911, but especially during the wars. In 1959 the Westmin mine opened and is still maintained today. Their area comprises around 1.5% of the total park. Should the pit be closed, it is already planned that this area should also enjoy the full protection of the park.
The banks of the Buttle Lake were affected in connection with the generation of electricity at the Elk Falls , as well as the logging.
In 1987, the provincial government announced that it would largely ban industrial uses and loggers from the park. The Friends of Strathcona organized a blockade that led to the arrest of 63 protesters. A master plan for the park was then drawn up. The Strathcona Park Public Advisory Committee was set up to ensure adequate protection.
As a result, McBride Creek (37.5 km²) and Megin Waterfall (273.9 km²) were connected in 1995, followed by Divers and Rossitor Lake .
Flora and fauna
The park is located in the temperate rainforest . British Columbia's ecosystem is divided into different biogeoclimatic zones using the Biogeoclimatic Ecological Classification (BEC) Zoning System . Biogeoclimatic zones are characterized by a fundamentally identical or very similar climate and the same or very similar biological and geological conditions. This results in a very similar population of plants and animals in the respective zones. Within this system, the park area is assigned to different zones. Due to the size of the park and the sometimes very different biological and geological situation, the park has the following zones and subzones: Alpine Tundra Zone - Costal Subzone , Mountain Hemlock Zone - Maritime Parkland Subzone , Mountain Hemlock Zone - Moist Maritime Subzone , Coastal Western Hemlock Zone - Dry Maritime Subzone and Coastal Western Hemlock Zone - Wet Maritime Subzone .
Occasionally, part of the park's ecosystem (around 48,000 ha) is simply referred to as the old-growth forest . This is then mainly characterized by the fact that the trees there must reach a height of at least 30 meters and must be at least 150 years old. Larger stands of this old-growth forest can also be found in the Gwaii-Haanas National Park (~ 65,000 ha) , for example . The most famous of these old-growth forests , however, is Cathedral Grove .
In accordance with the climate on the Canadian west coast, the summers are moderate and the winters are very mild. Nevertheless, the high mountains are permanently covered in snow.
Rare native mammals include the Vancouver marmot , Vancouver Island wolf, elk, and wild boar . The park also provides habitat for birds such as the Canadian corpse , red-backed tit , wren, golden cockerel , titjay , blue-tailed jay and the scallop dove . There are also populations of dusky grouse , ruffed grouse and white-tailed ptarmigan .
activities
The tourist infrastructure is concentrated in two different areas, on the one hand the Forbidden Plateau in the east - a good part of the route from Courtenay can be reached by car - and on the other hand around Buttle Lake, which runs from Campbell River on Highway 28 can be achieved. The rest of the park can only be reached on foot and by experienced hikers. For the hikers, only prepared tent sites are available in the trail areas Bedwell Trail, Elk River Trail and Forbidden Plateau. Ranger stations can also be found in the Forbidden Plateau area.
The park has two camping areas with only very basic sanitary facilities. Both are on Buttle Lake. One camping area is at the northern end of the lake and the other is at the southern end. The two sites offer a total of 161 parking spaces (Buttle Lake = 86 and Ralph River = 75) for campers and tents. Some of these can be reserved.
Web links
- Park's English-language website at BC Parks
- Strathcona Provincial Park . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
- Strathcona Provincial Park ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
- geology
- Information about Della Falls in an English language database
Individual evidence
- ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Strathcona Park (English)
- ↑ Biogeoclimatic Zones of British Columbia. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations , accessed May 19, 2016 .
- ^ Strathcona Provincial Park - Master Plan. (PDF, 1.9 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks , April 1993, accessed December 14, 2012 .
- ^ Strathcona Provincial Park - Master Plan Amendment. (PDF, 5.3 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, June 2001, accessed December 14, 2012 .
- ^ Ecosystems of British Columbia. (PDF, 10.31 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, February 1991, accessed December 14, 2012 .
- ^ Strathcona Provincial Park. Nature and Culture - Wildlife. BC Parks , accessed December 14, 2012 .