Kootenay National Park
Kootenay National Park is Canada's National Park, located in the southeast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The park covers an area of 1,406 km2 in the Canadian Rockies. Of all the parks formed in these mountains, only within the borders of Kutenei Park can you find a mountain boiler, it represents a long valley, which serves as a kind of natural border between the Rocky Mountains and the more ancient mountains of Colombia.
The name of this natural zone is borrowed from the indigenous population - the Indians of the Kuthenians. According to archaeologists, seasonal hunting camps of the Kuthenya and Kinbasket communities were located in the mountains. In addition, the Indians periodically crossed mountains to hunt bison on the plains east of the mountains. The nature of Kutenei Park is very diverse, so the park has its own motto: « From cacti to glaciers », since in the park you can meet both glaciers and cacti.
Rocky mountains formed as a result of the exploits of the earth's crust, when forces moving from the west compressed rocks, breaking them and forming folds. Subsequent erosion affected the formation of rivers and lakes, valleys and canyons. The park has a large number of cold springs in Paint Pots. Local keys are rich in iron. Of course, they always served as a great bait. Therefore, it is not surprising that a considerable number of Native American communities lived in the local mountains. The mountain system also gave ancient people the so-called « red earth » - red ocher for drawing. Notably, but the "red earth" was also interesting for people of our time: at the beginning of the 20th century, commercial production of red ocher was carried out in the Kutenei park. In addition to cold springs, hot springs can be found within Kutenei Park. The concentration of the latter is observed in the Sinclair canyon, as well as in the Radwall fault area.
From natural areas, Kutenei Park boasts the following: alpine tundra, subalpine meadows and forests, mountain valleys, the region of ice and petrification. As a rule, most plant and animal species in Kutenei Park are concentrated in mountain valleys. Quite remarkable species of flora can be found in the southwest of Kutenei Park, among them yellow aspen, Douglas fir, cereal, cacti.
The Koutenei Park fauna is also diverse. In the vastness of the park there are grizzlies and black bears, black-tailed and white-tailed deer, moose, mountain goats and snow sheep, coyotes and wolves, lynx and kugars, wolverines and marten, groundhogs. It was the mountain goat who was chosen as a symbol of the Kutenei National Park, this beautiful animal lives in the park only on the slopes of Mount Wardl, here the mountain goats are provided with special protection from the park staff.
