Waterton Lakes National Park is a
national parkA national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
located in the southwest corner of
AlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and borders Glacier National Park in
MontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
,
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Waterton was Canada's fourth national park, formed in 1895 and named after
Waterton LakeWaterton Lake is a mountain lake in southern Alberta, Canada and northern Montana, USA. The lake is composed of two bodies of water, connected by a shallow channel known locally as the Bosphorus. The two parts are referred to as Lower Wateron Lake, and Upper Waterton Lake, the latter of which is...
, in turn after the Victorian naturalist and conservationist
Charles WatertonCharles Waterton was an English naturalist and explorer.-Heritage and Life:"Squire" Waterton was born at Walton Hall, Wakefield, Yorkshire to Thomas Waterton and Anne Bedingfield. He was of a Roman Catholic landed gentry family descended from Reiner de Waterton...
. The park contains 505 km² (195 sq mi) of rugged
mountainImage:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s and wilderness.
Operated by
Parks CanadaParks Canada , also known as the Parks Canada Agency , is an agency of the Government of Canada mandated to protect and present nationally significant natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative...
, Waterton is open all year, but the main tourist season is during July and August. The only commercial facilities available within the park are located at the
Waterton ParkWaterton Park, commonly referred to as Waterton, is a hamlet in southwestern Alberta, Canada within Improvement District No. 4 Waterton ....
townsite. The park ranges in elevation from 1290 metres (4,232 ft) at the townsite to 2910 m (9,547 ft) at
Mount BlakistonMount Blakiston is a mountain in the southwestern corner of Alberta, Canada and the highest point within Waterton Lakes National Park. The mountain is situated in the Clark Range, north of Lineham Creek and south of Blakiston Creek...
. It offers many scenic trails, including
Crypt Lake trailThe Crypt Lake Trail is one of the premium hikes in Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is accessed by a dedicated ferry service operating from the Waterton Park Townsite....
. In 2004, Waterton Lakes National Park had 367,500 visitors.
The park was the subject of a short film in 2011's
National Parks ProjectThe National Parks Project is a Canadian music and film project. Released in 2011 to mark the 100th anniversary of the creation of the National Parks of Canada system, the project sent three Canadian musicians and a filmmaker to each of 13 Canadian national parks, one in each province and...
, directed by
Peter LynchPeter Lynch is an Canadian filmmaker, the director and writer of Project Grizzly and Cyberman.Lynch won a Genie Award for his short film Arrowhead, starring Don McKellar.He attended York University in Toronto, Canada.-Early life:...
and scored by
Cadence WeaponCadence Weapon is the stage name of Rollie Pemberton, a Canadian rapper.-Biography:Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, his father was Teddy Pemberton, a pioneering hip hop DJ on CJSR-FM, and his grandfather was Rollie Miles, a football player for the Edmonton Eskimos...
,
Laura BarrettLaura Barrett is a Canadian indie pop singer-songwriter, best known for incorporating the kalimba into her music. In addition to her solo work, Barrett has also performed as a member of The Hidden Cameras, Henri Fabergé and the Adorables, Woodhands and Sheezer....
and Mark Hamilton.
History
In 1932,
Waterton-Glacier International Peace ParkThe Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is the name of the union of the Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and the Glacier National Park in the United States...
was formed from Waterton and Glacier. It was dedicated to world peace by Sir
Charles Arthur ManderSir Charles Arthur Mander, 2nd Baronet JP, DL, TD was a public servant, philanthropist, and manufacturer, as managing director of Mander Brothers, the family paint, varnish and inks business established in 1773....
on behalf of
Rotary InternationalRotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
. Although the park has a lot of diversity for its size, the main highlight is the Waterton lakes—the deepest in the Canadian Rockies—overlooked by the historic
Prince of Wales HotelThe Prince of Wales Hotel is located in Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, overlooking Upper Waterton Lake, near the Canada-United States border. Constructed between 1926 and 1927, the hotel was built by the American Great Northern Railway to lure American tourists during the...
National Historic Site.
Biosphere Reserve
In 1979, Waterton and bordering Glacier National park in the US were designated as World Biosphere reserves, preserving mountains, prairie, lakes and freshwater wetlands
ecosystemAn ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s. Habitats represented in the parks' range include: prairie grasslands, aspen grove forests,
alpine tundraAlpine tundra is a natural region that does not contain trees because it is at high altitude. Alpine tundra is distinguished from arctic tundra, because alpine soils are generally better drained than arctic soils...
/high meadows, lower subalpine forests, deciduous and coniferous forests.
World Heritage Site
The park is part of the
Waterton-Glacier International Peace ParkThe Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is the name of the union of the Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and the Glacier National Park in the United States...
, designated as
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in 1995 for their distinctive climate, physiographic setting, mountain-prairie interface, and tri-ocean hydrographical divide. They are areas of significant scenic values with abundant and diverse flora and fauna.
External links