Waterton Lakes National Park

History

William Pearce, a Dominion Land Surveyor, was the first to suggest a park be established in the vicinity of Waterton Lakes in his 1886 annual report, although no action was taken by the government. In 1893, Frederick William Godsal, a rancher who resided north of the lakes, wrote Pearce referencing his 1886 report and suggested the area be turned into a park reserve. Pearce forwarded the proposal, noting the land had no value for agricultural and minimal grazing potential. Minister of the Interior Thomas Mayne Daly came across the proposal and directed a park reserve be created in the area. Finally, on May 30, 1895, Order-in-Council 1895-1621 established a 140 km2 unnamed forest park under the Dominion Lands Act.

While oil had been found in the area since the late 1880s, the government began approving reservation and sales of land for prospecting in 1898. In 1901, John Lineham of Okotoks organized the Rocky Mountain Drilling Company. In 1902, he drilled the first oil exploration well in Alberta on the site of oil seeps near Cameron Creek. Despite a small recovery of 34° API sweet oil, neither this well nor seven later exploration attempts resulted in production. The oil well and surrounding area was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1965. By 1905, more than half of the sections of land compromising the park had been sold or reserved for oil exploration. On September 21, 1905, Frederick William Godsal wrote the Secretary of the Interior requesting he consider expanding the park reserve for scenic and recreational purposes. The Dominion Forest Reserves Act, which came into force in 1906, established the Kootenay Lakes Forest Reserve under the authority of the Superintendent of Forestry.

In 1911, Minister of the Interior Frank Oliver introduced the Dominion Forest Reserves and Parks Act which designated all existing mountain parks, Elk Island and Buffalo Parks into forest reserves, with the authority to designate all or part of the reserve a dominion park (later national park). On June 8, 1911, Order-in-Council P.C. 1338 designated 35 km2 of the area of Waterton Lakes Forest Reserve as a dominion park, much smaller than expected by resident staff, and only a small portion of the original 1895 reserve of 140 km2. In 1914, Frank Oliver's successor as Minister of the Interior, William James Roche, significantly expanded the area of Waterton Lakes Park to 1096 km2.

In 1920 William Thomson, the designer and head professional of the original golf course in Banff National Park, was brought to Waterton Lakes to design a nine-hole golf course. A clubhouse was constructed in 1928, and the course was expanded to 18 holes between 1931 and 1936. Further renovations to the course in the 1950s were designed by golf course architect Stanley Thompson.

Prince of Wales Hotel

Main article: Prince of Wales Hotel

The Prince of Wales Hotel, one of Canada's grand railway hotels, was constructed between 1926 and 1927 adjacent to Upper Waterton Lakes, by the Great Northern Railway of the United States in an attempt to lure American tourists during the U.S. prohibition era. The hotel, which opened in July 1927, is the only grand railway hotel in Canada to be constructed by an American railway company. The hotel was named after the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), in a transparent attempt to entice him to stay in the hotel on his 1927 Canadian tour, but the prince stayed at his own nearby ranch in Pekisko, Alberta, instead. The hotel was designated as a national historic site of Canada on 6 November 1992.

Later history

In 1932, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park was formed from Waterton Lakes National Park and Glacier. It was dedicated to world peace by Sir Charles Arthur Mander on behalf of Rotary International on 18 June 1932, whose members from the Alberta and Montana chapters lobbied for the formation of the park. The Peace Park was the first of its nature in the world, and was intended to promote goodwill between nations and underscore the international nature of protection of wilderness.

In terms of local governance, those lands within Waterton Lakes National Park were split between the Municipal District of Kerr No. 39 and the Municipal District of Castle River No. 40 prior to 1944. Following a partial amalgamation of the two municipal districts, remnant unsurveyed lands within the park were incorporated as Improvement District (ID) No. 11 on January 1, 1944. It was renumbered to ID No. 8 on April 1, 1945, and again to ID No. 4 on January 1, 1969.

The Waterton-Glacier International was inscribed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. In 1979, Waterton became Canada's second biosphere reserve and the first Canadian national park to take part in this UNESCO program. Biosphere Reserves are created to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between humans and the natural environment.

In September 2017, a large forest fire forced the evacuation of the townsite and park. The fire burned through 200 km2 of the park, destroying the visitor centre, stables and other buildings. Some 80% of hiking trails were affected and several remained closed for the 2018 season. The fire severely damaged 30% of the park, and up to 70% of the park's forested area was destroyed. However, the Waterton Park townsite and the Prince of Wales Hotel were unscathed.

Geology

The oldest rocks in the park are marine sediments dating back 1.5 billion years. These rocks are composed of limestone, dolomite and igneous rocks. There are fossilized sea beds as well as salt pseudomorph. There are numerous stromatolite formations that are 1.3 billion years old.

Unlike the Canadian Rockies, whose sedimentary strata are more or less inclined, the Waterton sediments are characterized by a single overlap. The Lewis Overthrust allowed sediment Proterozoic to move as a unit, more or less, horizontally on the rocks of the Cretaceous period dating from about 70 million years ago on a remote 100 km south-east of the mountain's present location. The fact that older rocks end up on younger rocks is a rare occurrence in geology. Under the Proterozoic layer, there is a layer dating from the Upper Cretaceous which is mainly composed of schist.

Although there are no glaciers left in Waterton, aside from a few expanses of eternal snow, the landscape has been greatly shaped by the Wisconsin glaciation. The park has many examples of glacial landforms, including glacial troughs, hanging valleys, cirques, kames and eskers. Since the end of the last ice age, the Cameron and Blakiston rivers have formed two alluvial fans at their mouths.

Ecology

Waterton Lakes National Park spans four ecoregions, foothills parkland, montane, subalpine and alpine. Waterton is the only National Park in Canada with the foothills parkland ecoregion, which comprises approximately 10 percent of the Park and occupies a narrow band along the eastern edge of the foothills of Alberta from Calgary to Waterton and into parts of the United States.

Flora

There are over 1000 species of vascular plants found in the park. Over 20 species are endemic to the park such as Lewis' mock-orange and white-veined wintergreen. Over 50 species of plants that are found the park are rare in Canada such as Bolander's quillwort, Lyall's scorpionweed, and Brewer's monkeyflower. Waterton Lakes National Park is also home to small ferns called moonworts and the Waterton moonwort is endemic to the park.

Fauna

Animals that inhabit this national park include wolverines, bighorn sheep, bald eagles, white-tailed deer, mule deer, mountain goats, elk, moose, foxes, timber wolves, bison, coyotes, beavers, river otters, cougars, lynxes, bobcats, snowshoe hares, pikas, hoary marmots, grizzly bears and black bears. Many bird species nest or migrate through the park, some of which include bald eagles, Canada geese, orange-crowned warblers, and MacGillivray's warblers.

Climate

Waterton Lakes National Park Cameron Falls weather station has a humid continental climate (Koppen: Dfb). Summertime is mild with cool nights, while winter is chilly with highs around freezing. Snowfall is heavy, averaging 481.5 cm (189.6 inches).

|Jan record high C = 15.0 |Feb record high C = 16.5 |Mar record high C = 18.0 |Apr record high C = 27.0 |May record high C = 31.0 |Jun record high C = 31.0 |Jul record high C = 36.0 |Aug record high C = 35.0 |Sep record high C = 32.5 |Oct record high C = 29.0 |Nov record high C = 18.5 |Dec record high C = 15.0 |year record high C = 36.0

|Jan record low C = -38.0 |Feb record low C = -37.0 |Mar record low C = -30.6 |Apr record low C = -22.8 |May record low C = -7.0 |Jun record low C = -1.0 |Jul record low C = 0.5 |Aug record low C = -4.0 |Sep record low C = -8.0 |Oct record low C = -23.0 |Nov record low C = -33.0 |Dec record low C = -37.0 |year record low C = -38.0

|access-date = 6 August 2020

Biosphere Reserve

Main article: Waterton 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 ecosystems. Habitats represented in the parks' range include: prairie grasslands, aspen grove forests, alpine tundra/high meadows, lower subalpine forests, deciduous and coniferous forests.

World Heritage Site

The park is part of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, designated as World Heritage Site 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.

Photo gallery

File:cameron lake.jpg|Cameron Lake File:MooseAtCameronLake.JPG|Moose at Cameron Lake File:SummitHike.JPG|View from top of Summit Trail File:SummitLake.JPG|Summit Lake File:Pano14.jpg|Panorama taken from Prince of Wales hotel looking south File:49 parallel waterton.jpg|49th parallel at Waterton Lake File:Cameron Falls-27527.jpg|Cameron Falls File:Waterton_National_Park_Red_Rock_Canyon_.JPG#file |Red Rock Canyon File:Broad view of Waterton RV Campground, Alberta.jpg|Waterton Park townsite campground File:S7300921.JPG#file | South Beach of Waterton Park townsite File:Blackiston Falls Upper, Waterton National Park.jpg | Blakiston Falls (upper) File:Blackbearwaterton.jpg|Cinnamon-coloured black bear eating dandelions, in Akamina Parkway. File:WatertonMountains.jpg|View of the mountains surrounding the Waterton Lake File:Canada 39 bg 061904.jpg|Prince of Wales Hotel with Mount Richards File:Castilleja_miniata,_Waterton.jpg|Castilleja (Indian paintbrush) on the Bear's Hump File:View from Bears Hump (3905438616).jpg|View from Bears Hump File:Waterton 1 (8047366041).jpg|View of Vimy Peak

References

References

1. Canada, Parks. "Parks Canada attendance 2022_23 - Parks Canada attendance 2022_23 - Open Government Portal".
2. (July 31, 2013). "Parks Canada Attendance 2007-08 to 2012-13". Parks Canada.
3. (1977). "A History of Canada's National Parks". Parks Canada.
4. (May 30, 1895). "1895-1621 - Dominion lands - Min. [Minister of the] Interior 1895/05/27 recds. [recommends] reservation certain for a Forest Park". Privy Council Office.
5. (2010). "Western Canada's First Oil Discovery". GEO ExPro.
6. {{CRHP. 5210. First Oil Well in Western Canada National Historic Site. 5 August 2020
7. (1977). "A History of Canada's National Parks". Parks Canada.
8. (June 6, 1911). "1911-1338 - Dominion Parks established Glacier Park, Yoho Park, Rocky Mountains Park, Jasper Park, Waterton Lake Park - Min. Int. [Minister of the Interior] 1911/06/01". Privy Council Office.
9. (1977). "A History of Canada's National Parks". Parks Canada.
10. (June 24, 1914). "1914-1165 Dominion Parks - Amendment of Boundaries of Jasper Park and Waterton Lake Park - Min. Int. [Minister of the Interior] 1914/03/19". Privy Council Office.
11. Lothian, W. F.. (1977). "A History of Canada's National Parks". Parks Canada.
12. Djuff, Ray. (1999). "High on a Windy Hill: The Story of the Prince of Wales Hotel". Rocky Mountain Books Ltd.
13. (31 March 2017). "Prince of Wales National Historic Site". Parks Canada.
14. (17 July 2019). "Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park". [[Parks Canada]].
15. (October 1, 2021). "Municipal Profiles: Improvement Districts". [[Alberta Municipal Affairs]].
16. "Waterton Glacier International Peace Park". [[UNESCO]].
17. "Waterton Lakes National Park". [[Parks Canada]].
18. (25 January 2019). "Ottawa spending $21M to help fire damaged Waterton Lakes National Park". Global News.
19. (September 14, 2017). "Wildfire destroyed 30% of Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta MP says, as rain provides some relief". [[CBC News]].
20. Burles, Patrick. (September 19, 2017). "Tense moments in fight to save Prince of Wales Hotel". Lethbridge News Now.
21. "Geology and landforms". [[Parks Canada]].
22. (10 July 2018). "Stromatolites". [[Parks Canada]].
23. "From bottom to top". [[Parks Canada]].
24. Parks Canada Agency, Government of Canada. (2017-07-15). "Green Scene - Waterton Lakes National Park".
25. Parks Canada Agency, Government of Canada. (2018-07-10). "Green Scene - Moonworts and Quillworts - Waterton Lakes National Park".
26. Parks Canada Agency, Government of Canada. (2018-08-22). "Wildlife - Birds - Waterton Lakes National Park".
27. link. (2006-10-09 - Park description at UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve)
28. [https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=354 UNESCO] - Park description at UNESCO World Heritage