Kootenay National Park
Kootenay National Park is a Canadian national park located in the southeastern 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 boundaries of Kootenay Park can you find a mountain basin, it is a long valley that serves as a kind of natural boundary between the Rocky Mountains and the more ancient Columbia Mountains.
The name of this natural area is borrowed from the indigenous population - the Kootenay Indians. According to archaeologists, seasonal hunting camps of the Kootenay and Kinbasket communities were located in the mountains. In addition, Indians periodically crossed the mountains to hunt bison on the plains east of the mountains. The nature of Kootenay Park is very diverse, so the park has its own motto: "From cacti to glaciers", because in the park you can meet both glaciers and cacti.
The Rocky Mountains were formed as a result of movements of the earth's crust, when forces moving from the west compressed the rocks, breaking them and forming folds. Subsequent erosion has affected the formation of rivers and lakes, valleys and canyons. The park has a large number of cold springs in Point Potts. The local keys are rich in iron. Of course, they have always served as an excellent bait. Therefore, it is not surprising that a considerable number of Indian communities lived in the local mountains. The mountain system also provided the ancient people with the so-called "red earth" - red ochre for painting. It is noteworthy that the "red earth" turned out to be interesting to modern people: at the beginning of the 20th century, commercial extraction of red ochre was carried out on the territory of Kootenay Park. In addition to cold springs, hot springs can also be found within Kootenay Park. The concentration of the latter is observed in Sinclair Canyon, as well as in the area of the Redwall fault.
Of the natural areas, Kootenay Park boasts the following: alpine tundra, subalpine meadows and forests, mountain valleys, an area of ice and fossils. As a rule, most of the plant and animal species in Kootenay Park are concentrated in the mountain valleys. Quite remarkable species of flora can be found in the southwest of Kootenay Park, among them yellow aspen, Douglas fir, grasses, and cacti.
The fauna of Kootenay Park is also diverse. There are grizzlies and black bears, black-tailed and white-tailed deer, moose, mountain goats and bighorn sheep, coyotes and wolves, lynxes and cougars, wolverines and martens, marmots. It was the mountain goat that was chosen as the symbol of Kootenay National Park, this beautiful animal lives in the park only on the slopes of Mount Wardle, here mountain goats are provided with special protection by park staff.
