Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park

	Tatshenshini Alsek Provincial Park IUCN Category Ib - Wilderness Area
	Samuel Glacier
location	British Columbia (Canada)
surface	9,470.26 km²
WDPA ID	47406
Geographical location	59 ° 52 ' N , 138 ° 1' W Coordinates: 59 ° 52 '3 " N , 138 ° 0' 49" W
Setup date	Oct. 15, 1993
administration	BC parks

Location of Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park

Confluence of the Alseks and the Tatshenshinis

The Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Wilderness Park in the extreme northwest of the Canadian province of British Columbia and has an area of 9470, making it currently the largest, before Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park , the provincial parks in British Columbia . It was established in 1993 after an intense campaign by Canadian and US conservation organizations to end mining in the area and preserve the area's natural heritage and biodiversity . The park borders Canada’s Kluane National Park and the US Glacier Bay and Wrangell St. Elias National Parks . Together with these, Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park has been part of a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Reserve created in 1979 since 1994 . The administration takes place in cooperation with the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations .

The park is a category Ib protected area ( wilderness area ).

history

Along the two rivers Tatshenshini and Alsek there were fishing villages of the Tlingit and the Tutchone . The eastern edge of the park follows an ancient trade route used by the Chilkat to trade with the Tutchone.

In the middle of the 19th century, the sudden eruption of a huge glacial lake that had accumulated over the years led to a seven-meter high tidal wave that washed an entire Tutchone village into the sea at Dry Bay.

Tatshenshini-Alsek was one of the last areas of British Columbia to be explored. The first geological explorations took place in the 1960s . Significant copper deposits have been found near Windy-Craggy Mountain in the Tatshenshini Region. In the 1970s, the tourist development for rafting began . Until the 1980s, Windy-Craggy was transformed into an extensive surface mine.

In 1991 Tatshenshini International , a cooperation among the 50 largest nature conservation organizations in North America , emerged as a countermovement . Their political campaign was ultimately also supported by US Vice President Al Gore . Provincial Prime Minister Michael Harcourt agreed to an investigation into the resources of the affected region and in June 1993 the British Columbian provincial government decided to set up a protected area. The operators of the Windy Craggy mine were compensated with CAD 103.8 million .

In 1999 sheep hunters found human remains and objects at the foot of a glacier . The well-preserved, frozen man died between 1670 and 1850.

nature

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 area in which the park is located is assigned to the Coastal Western Hemlock Zone and the Mountain Hemlock Zone .

The Tatshenshini and Alsek rivers flow through the park, forming U-shaped valleys. The gorges formed by them allow fresh and moist sea air to penetrate into the cold interior of the country. The rapid cooling of this air, regular floods and avalanches, a complex geology and great differences in altitude have contributed to a rich biodiversity.

The provincial park has a significant population of grizzly bears, as well as the only Canadian population of glacier bears , a rare subspecies of black bears . In addition to bears, there are Dall sheep , mountain goats , elk , gray wolves , bald eagles , golden eagles , peregrine falcons and gyrfalcons .

The Fairweather Range located in the park forms with Mount Fairweather (4,663 meters high) the highest point in the province. Tatshenshini-Alsek is a zone with an increased risk of earthquakes .

Web links

Commons : Tatshenshini-Alsek Park - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park . In: English language website of the park at BC Parks
Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).

Individual evidence

↑ World Heritage: Canada, Yukon and British Columbia
↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park (English)
↑ Biogeoclimatic Zones of British Columbia. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations , accessed May 19, 2016 .
↑ Park Management Plan. (PDF; 9.53 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, November 2001, accessed on December 15, 2012 .
^ Ecosystems of British Columbia. (PDF; 9.85 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, February 1991, accessed December 15, 2012 .

[1] World Heritage: Canada, Yukon and British Columbia

[2] World Database on Protected Areas - Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park (English)

[3] Biogeoclimatic Zones of British Columbia. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations , accessed May 19, 2016 .

[4] Park Management Plan. (PDF; 9.53 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, November 2001, accessed on December 15, 2012 .

[5] Ecosystems of British Columbia. (PDF; 9.85 MB) British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, February 1991, accessed December 15, 2012 .