Banff National Park
IUCN category II (national park)[1]
Moraine Lake, and the Valley of the Ten Peaks
Location of Banff National Park Show map of Canada Banff National Park (Alberta) Show map of Alberta
Location	Alberta's Rockies, Alberta, Canada
Nearest town	Located within Banff National Park: Banff Castle Junction Lake Louise Nearest town outside Banff National Park: Canmore
Coordinates	51°30′N 116°00′W / 51.5°N 116.0°W / 51.5; -116.0
Area	6,641 km2 (2,564 sq mi)
Established	25 November 1885
Visitors	4,130,081 (in 2022–23[2])
Governing body	Parks Canada
Website	parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/banff
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Part of	Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks
Criteria	Natural: (vii), (viii)
Reference	304
Inscription	1984 (8th Session)

Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, 110–180 kilometres (68–112 mi) west of Calgary, Banff encompasses 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi)^[3] of mountainous terrain, with many glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. Provincial forests and Yoho National Park are neighbours to the west, while Kootenay National Park is located to the south and Kananaskis Country to the southeast. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of Banff, in the Bow River valley.

The Canadian Pacific Railway was instrumental in Banff's early years, building the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise, and attracting tourists through extensive advertising. In the early 20th century, roads were built in Banff, at times by war internees from World War I, and through Great Depression-era public works projects.^[4] The Icefields Parkway extends from Lake Louise, connecting to Jasper National Park in the north.

Since the 1960s, park accommodations have been open all year, with annual tourism visits to Banff increasing to over 5 million in the 1990s.^[5] Millions more pass through the park on the Trans-Canada Highway.^[6] As Banff has over three million visitors annually, the health of its ecosystem has been threatened. In the mid-1990s, Parks Canada responded by initiating a two-year study which resulted in management recommendations and new policies that aim to preserve ecological integrity.

Banff National Park has a subarctic climate with three ecoregions, including montane, subalpine, and alpine. The forests are dominated by Lodgepole pine at lower elevations and Engelmann spruce in higher ones below the treeline, above which is primarily rocks and ice. Mammal species such as the grizzly bear, cougar, wolverine, elk, bighorn sheep and moose are found, along with hundreds of bird species. Reptiles and amphibians are also found but only a limited number of species have been recorded.

The mountains are formed from sedimentary rocks which were pushed east over newer rock strata, between 80 and 55 million years ago. Over the past few million years, glaciers have at times covered most of the park, but today are found only on the mountain slopes though they include the Columbia Icefield, the largest uninterrupted glacial mass in the Rockies. Erosion from water and ice have carved the mountains into their current shapes.

History

Throughout its history, Banff National Park has been shaped by tension between conservationist and land exploitation interests. The park was established on November 25, 1885, as Banff Hot Springs Reserve,^[7] in response to conflicting claims over who discovered hot springs there and who had the right to develop the hot springs for commercial interests. The conservationists prevailed when Prime Minister John A. Macdonald set aside the hot springs as a small protected reserve, which was later expanded to include Lake Louise and other areas extending north to the Columbia Icefield.^[8]

Indigenous peoples

Archaeological evidence found at Vermilion Lakes indicates the first human activity in Banff to 10,300 B.P.^[9] Prior to European contact, the area that is now Banff National Park was home to many Indigenous Peoples, including the Stoney Nakoda, Ktunaxa, Tsuut'ina, Kainaiwa, Piikani, Siksika, and Plains Cree .^[10][11] Indigenous Peoples utilized the area to hunt, fish, trade, travel, survey and practice culture.^[10][11] Many areas within Banff National Park are still known by their Stoney Nakoda names such as Lake Minnewanka and the Waputik Range. Cave and Basin served as an important cultural and spiritual site for the Stoney Nakoda.^[11]

With the admission of British Columbia to Canada on July 20, 1871, Canada agreed to build a transcontinental railroad. Construction of the railroad began in 1875, with Kicking Horse Pass chosen, over the more northerly Yellowhead Pass, as the route through the Canadian Rockies.^[8] Ten years later, on November 7, 1885, the last spike was driven in Craigellachie, British Columbia.^[8]

Rocky Mountains Park established

With conflicting claims over the discovery of hot springs in Banff, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald decided to set aside a small reserve of 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) around the hot springs at Cave and Basin as a public park known as the Banff Hot Springs Reserve in 1885. Under the Rocky Mountains Park Act, enacted on June 23, 1887, the park was expanded to 674 km² (260 sq mi)^[12] and named Rocky Mountains Park. This was Canada's first national park, and the third established in North America, after Yellowstone and Mackinac National Parks. The Canadian Pacific Railway built the Banff Springs Hotel and Lake Louise Chalet to attract tourists and increase the number of rail passengers.^[8]

The Stoney Nakoda First Nation were removed from Banff National Park between the years 1890 and 1920. The park was designed to appeal to sportsmen, and tourists. The exclusionary policy met the goals of sports hunting, tourism, and game conservation, as well as of those attempting to "civilize" the First Nations of the area.^[13]

Early on, Banff was popular with wealthy European and American tourists, the former of which arrived in Canada via trans-Atlantic luxury liner and continued westward on the railroad.^[12] Some visitors participated in mountaineering activities, often hiring local guides. Guides Jim and Bill Brewster founded one of the first outfitters in Banff.^[14] From 1906, the Alpine Club of Canada organized climbs, hikes and camps in the park.^[15]

By 1911, Banff was accessible by automobile from Calgary.^[15] Beginning in 1916, the Brewsters offered motorcoach tours of Banff.^[14] In 1920, access to Lake Louise by road was available, and the Banff-Windermere Road opened in 1923 to connect Banff with British Columbia.^[15]

In 1902, the park was expanded to cover 11,400 km² (4,400 sq mi), encompassing areas around Lake Louise, and the Bow, Red Deer, Kananaskis, and Spray rivers. Bowing to pressure from grazing and logging interests, the size of the park was reduced in 1911 to 4,663 km² (1,800 sq mi), eliminating many eastern foothills areas from the park. Park boundaries changed several more times up until 1930, when the area of Banff was fixed at 6,697 km² (2,586 sq mi), with the passage of the National Parks Act.^[12] The Act, which took effect May 30, 1930, also renamed the park Banff National Park, named for the Canadian Pacific Railway station, which in turn was named after the Banffshire region in Scotland.^[16] With the construction of a new east gate in 1933, Alberta transferred 0.84 km² (0.32 sq mi) to the park. This, along with other minor changes in the park boundaries in 1949, set the area of the park at 6,641 km² (2,564 sq mi).^[15]

Coal mining

In 1877, the First Nations of the area signed Treaty 7, which gave Canada rights to explore the land for resources. At the beginning of the 20th century, coal was mined near Lake Minnewanka in Banff. For a brief period, a mine operated at Anthracite but was shut down in 1904. The Bankhead mine, at Cascade Mountain, was operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway from 1903 to 1922. In 1926, the town was dismantled, with many buildings moved to the town of Banff and elsewhere.^[17]

Internment and work camps

During World War I, immigrants from Austria-Hungary and Germany were sent to Banff to work in internment camps.^[18] The main camp was located at Castle Mountain, and was moved to Cave and Basin during winter.^[18] Much early infrastructure and road construction was done by men of various Slavic origins although Ukrainians constituted a majority of those held in Banff.^[19] Historical plaques and a statue erected by the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association commemorate those interned at Castle Mountain, and at Cave and Basin National Historic Site where an interpretive pavilion dealing with Canada's first national internment operations opened in September 2013.^[20]

In 1931, the Government of Canada enacted the Unemployment and Farm Relief Act which provided public works projects in the national parks during the Great Depression.^[21] In Banff, workers constructed a new bathhouse and pool at Upper Hot Springs, to supplement Cave and Basin.^[19] Other projects involved road building in the park, tasks around the Banff townsite and construction of a highway connecting Banff and Jasper.^[19] In 1934, the Public Works Construction Act was passed, providing continued funding for the public works projects. New projects included construction of a new registration facility at Banff's east gate and construction of an administrative building in Banff. By 1940, the Icefields Parkway reached the Columbia Icefield area of Banff and connected Banff and Jasper.^[22] Most of the infrastructure present in the national park dates from public work projects enacted during the Great Depression.^[21]

Alternative service camps for conscientious objectors were set up in Banff during World War II, with camps located at Lake Louise, Stoney Creek, and Healy Creek. These camps were largely populated by Mennonites from Saskatchewan.^[23]

Winter tourism

Winter tourism in Banff began in February 1917, with the first Banff Winter Carnival. It was marketed to a regional middle class audience, and became the centerpiece of local boosters aiming to attract visitors, which were a low priority for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).^[24] The carnival featured a large ice palace, which in 1917 was built by World War I internees. Carnival events included cross-country skiing, ski jumping, curling, snowshoe, and skijoring.^[25] In the 1930s, the first downhill ski resort, Sunshine Village, was developed by the Brewsters. Mount Norquay ski area was also developed during the 1930s, with the first chair lift installed there in 1948.^[12]

Since 1968, when the Banff Springs Hotel was winterized, Banff has been a year-round destination.^[26] In the 1950s, the Trans-Canada Highway was constructed, providing another transportation corridor through the Bow Valley, making the park more accessible.^[15]

Canada launched several bids to host the Winter Olympics in Banff, with the first bid for the 1964 Winter Olympics, which were eventually awarded to Innsbruck, Austria. Canada narrowly lost a second bid, for the 1968 Winter Olympics, which were awarded to Grenoble, France. Once again, Banff launched a bid to host the 1972 Winter Olympics, with plans to hold the Olympics at Lake Louise. The 1972 bid was controversial, as environmental lobby groups strongly opposed the bid, which had sponsorship from Imperial Oil.^[12] Bowing to pressure, Jean Chrétien, then the Minister of Environment, the government department responsible for Parks Canada, withdrew support for the bid, which was eventually lost to Sapporo, Japan.^[12] When nearby Calgary hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics, the cross-country ski events were held at the Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park at Canmore, Alberta, located just outside the eastern gates of Banff National Park on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Conservation

Since the original Rocky Mountains Park Act, subsequent acts and policies placed greater emphasis on conservation. With public sentiment tending towards environmentalism, Parks Canada issued major new policy in 1979, which emphasized conservation. The National Parks Act was amended in 1988, which made preserving ecological integrity the first priority in all park management decisions. The Act also required each park to produce a management plan, with greater public participation.^[12]

In 1984, Banff was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site, together with the other national and provincial parks that form the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, for the mountain landscapes containing mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons and limestone caves as well as fossil beds. With this designation came added obligations for conservation.^[27]

View from the summit of Sulphur Mountain, showing Banff and the surrounding areas

During the 1980s, Parks Canada moved to privatize many park services such as golf courses, and added user fees for use of other facilities and services to help deal with budget cuts. In 1990, the town of Banff was incorporated, giving local residents more say regarding any proposed developments.^[28]

In the 1990s, development plans for the park, including expansion at Sunshine Village, were under fire with lawsuits filed by Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS).^[12] In the mid-1990s, the Banff-Bow Valley Study was initiated to find ways to better address environmental concerns, and issues relating to development in the park.^[29]

Geography

Banff National Park is located in the Rocky Mountains on Alberta's western border with British Columbia in the Alberta Mountain forests ecoregion. By road, the town of Banff is 128 kilometres (80 mi) west of Calgary and 401 km (249 mi) southwest of Edmonton.^[30] Jasper National Park borders Banff National Park to the north, while Yoho National Park is to the west and Kootenay National Park is to the south.^[31] Kananaskis Country, which includes Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park, Spray Valley Provincial Park, and Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, is located to the south and east of Banff. The Trans-Canada Highway passes through Banff National Park, from the eastern boundary near Canmore, through the towns of Banff and Lake Louise, and into Yoho National Park in British Columbia.^[30] The Banff townsite is the main commercial centre in the national park. The village of Lake Louise is located at the junction of the Trans-Canada Highway and the Icefields Parkway, which extends north to the Jasper townsite.^[30]

Banff

Banff, established in 1885, is the main commercial centre in Banff National Park, as well as a centre for cultural activities.^[31] Banff is home to several cultural institutions, including the Banff Centre, the Whyte Museum, the Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum, Cave and Basin National Historic Site, and several art galleries. Throughout its history, Banff has hosted many annual events, including Banff Indian Days which began in 1889, and the Banff Winter Carnival. Since 1976, The Banff Centre has organized the Banff Mountain Film Festival. In 1990, Banff incorporated as a town of Alberta, though still subject to the National Parks Act and federal authority in regards to planning and development.^[32] In its 2014 census, the town of Banff had a permanent population of 8,421 as well as 965 non-permanent residents for a total population of 9,386.^[33] The Bow River flows through the town of Banff, with the Bow Falls located on the outskirts of town.

Lake Louise

Lake Louise, a hamlet 54 km (34 mi) northwest of the town of Banff, is home to the landmark Chateau Lake Louise at the edge of Lake Louise. Located 15 km (9.3 mi) from Lake Louise, Moraine Lake provides a scenic vista of the Valley of the Ten Peaks. This scene is on the back of the Canadian $20 bill in the 1969–1979 ("Scenes of Canada") series.^[34] The Lake Louise Mountain Resort is also near the village. Lake Louise is one of the most visited lakes in the world and is framed to the southwest by the Mount Victoria Glacier.^[35]

Icefields Parkway

The Icefields Parkway is a 230-kilometre-long (140 mi)^[36] road connecting Lake Louise to Jasper, Alberta. The Parkway originates at Lake Louise, and extends north up the Bow Valley, past Hector Lake, which is the largest natural lake in the park.^[35] Other scenic lakes near the parkway include Bow Lake, and Peyto Lakes, both north of Hector Lake. The Parkway then crosses Bow Summit (2,088 m (6,850 ft)), and follows the Mistaya River to Saskatchewan Crossing, where it converges with the Howse and North Saskatchewan River. Bow Summit is the highest elevation crossed by a public road in Canada.^[35]

The North Saskatchewan River flows east from Saskatchewan Crossing, out of Banff, into what is known as David Thompson Country, and onto Edmonton. The David Thompson Highway follows the North Saskatchewan River, past the man-made Abraham Lake, and through David Thompson Country.

North of Saskatchewan Crossing, the Icefields Parkway follows the North Saskatchewan River up to the Columbia Icefield. The Parkway crosses into Jasper National Park at Sunwapta Pass at 2,035 metres (6,677 ft) in elevation,^[37] and continues on from there to the Jasper townsite.

Geology

The Canadian Rockies consist of several northwest–southeast trending ranges.^[38][39] Two main mountain ranges are within the park, each consisting of numerous subranges. The western border of the park follows the crest of the Main Ranges (also known as the Park Ranges), which is also the continental divide. The Main Ranges in Banff National Park include from north to south, the Waputik, Bow and Blue Ranges. The high peaks west of Lake Louise are part of the Bow Range. The eastern border of the park includes all of the Front Ranges consisting of from north to south, the Palliser, Sawback and Sundance Ranges.^[40] The Banff townsite is located in the Front Ranges. Just outside the park to the east lie the foothills that extend from Canmore at the eastern entrance of the park eastward into the Great Plains. Well west of the park, the Western Ranges of the Rockies pass through Yoho and Kootenay National Parks.^[39] Though the tallest peak entirely within the park is Mount Forbes at 3,612 metres (11,850 ft), Mount Assiniboine on the Banff-Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park border is slightly higher at 3,618 m (11,870 ft).^[41]

The Canadian Rockies are composed of sedimentary rock, including shale, sandstone, dolomite and limestone.^[38] The vast majority of geologic formations in Banff range in age from Precambrian to the Jurassic periods (600–145 m.y.a.).^[39] However, rocks as young as the lower Cretaceous (145–66 m.y.a.) can be found near the east entrance and on Cascade Mountain above the Banff townsite.^[42] These sedimentary rocks formed at the bottom of shallow seas between 600 and 175 m.y.a. and were pushed east during the Laramide orogeny.^[43]: 78 Mountain building in Banff National Park ended approximately 55 m.y.a.^[43]

The Canadian Rockies may have risen up to 8,000 metres (26,000 ft) approximately 70 m.y.a.^[44] Once mountain formation ceased, erosion carved the mountains into their present rugged shape.^{[43]: 80–81} The erosion was first due to water, then was greatly accelerated by the Quaternary glaciation 2.5 million years ago. Glacial landforms dominate Banff's geomorphology, with examples of all classic glacial forms, including cirques, arêtes, hanging valleys, moraines, and U-shaped valleys. The pre-existing structure left over from mountain-building strongly guided glacial erosion: mountains in Banff include complex, irregular, anticlinal, synclinal, castellate, dogtooth, and sawback mountains.^[45]

Many of the mountain ranges trend northwest to southeast, with sedimentary layering dipping down to the west at 40–60 degrees.^[39] This leads to dip slope landforms, with generally steeper east and north faces, and trellis drainage, where rivers and old glacial valleys followed the weaker layers in the rocks as they were relatively easily weathered and eroded.^[39][46] Classic examples are found at the Banff townsite proper: Mount Rundle is a classic dip slope mountain.^[47]: 28 Just to the north of the Banff townsite, Castle Mountain is composed of numerous Cambrian age rock formations. The uppermost section of the peak consists of relatively harder dolomite from the Eldon Formation. Below that lies the less dense shales of the Stephen Formation and the lowest exposed cliffs are limestones of the Cathedral Formation.^{[48][47]: 76} Dogtooth mountains, such as Mount Louis, exhibit sharp, jagged slopes.^[47]: 114 The Sawback Range, which consists of nearly vertical dipping sedimentary layers, has been eroded by cross gullies.^[49] The erosion of these almost vertical layers of rock strata in the Sawback Range has resulted in formations that appear like the teeth on a saw blade.^[50] Erosion and deposition of higher elevation rock layers has resulted in scree deposits at the lowest elevations of many of the mountains.

Glaciers and icefields

Banff National Park has numerous large glaciers and icefields, 100 of which can be observed from the Icefields Parkway.^[51] Small cirque glaciers are fairly common in the Main Ranges, situated in depressions on the side of many mountains. As with the majority of mountain glaciers around the world, the glaciers in Banff are retreating.^[52] While Peyto Glacier is one of the longest continuously studied glaciers in the world, with research extending back to the 1970s, most of the glaciers of the Canadian Rockies have only been scientifically evaluated since the late 1990s.^[52] Glaciologists are now researching the glaciers in the park more thoroughly, and have been analyzing the impact that reduced glacier ice may have on water supplies to streams and rivers.^[52] Estimates are that 150 glaciers disappeared in the Canadian Rockies (areas both inside and outside Banff National Park) between the years 1920 and 1985. Another 150 glaciers disappeared between 1985 and 2005, indicating that the retreat and disappearance of glaciers is accelerating.^[52] In Banff National Park alone, in 1985 there were 365 glaciers but by 2005, 29 glaciers had disappeared. The total glaciated area dropped from 625 to 500 square kilometres (241 to 193 sq mi) in that time period.^[52]

The largest glaciated areas include the Waputik and Wapta Icefields, which both lie on the Banff-Yoho National Park border. Wapta Icefield covers approximately 80 km² (31 sq mi) in area.^[53] Outlets of Wapta Icefield on the Banff side of the continental divide include Peyto, Bow, and Vulture Glaciers. Bow Glacier retreated an estimated 1,100 m (3,600 ft) between the years 1850 and 1953,^[53] and since that period, there has been further retreat which has left a newly formed lake at the terminal moraine. Peyto Glacier has lost 70 percent of its volume since record keeping began and has retreated approximately 2,000 m (6,600 ft) since 1880; the glacier is at risk of disappearing entirely within the next 30 to 40 years.^[52][54]

The Columbia Icefield, at the northern end of Banff, straddles the Banff and Jasper National Park border and extends into British Columbia. Snow Dome, in the Columbia Icefield is a hydrological apex of North America, with water flowing via outlet glaciers to the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans.^[55] Saskatchewan Glacier, which is approximately 13 km (8 mi) in length and 30 km² (12 sq mi) in area,^[53] is the major outlet of the Columbia Icefield that flows into Banff National Park. Between the years 1893 and 1953, Saskatchewan Glacier had retreated a distance of 1,364 m (4,475 ft), with the rate of retreat between the years 1948 and 1953 averaging 55 m (180 ft) per year.^[53] Overall, the glaciers of the Canadian Rockies lost 25 percent of their mass during the 20th century.^[56]

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, the park has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.^[57] The climate is influenced by altitude with lower temperatures generally found at higher elevations.^[58] Located on the eastern side of the Continental Divide, Banff National Park receives 472 millimetres (18.6 in) of precipitation annually.^[59] This is considerably less than in Yoho National Park on the western side of the divide in British Columbia, where 884 mm (34.8 in) is received at Wapta Lake and 616 mm (24.3 in) at Boulder Creek annually.^[59] Being influenced by altitude, snowfall is also greater at higher elevations.^[58] As such, 234 cm (92 in) of snow falls on average each year in the Banff townsite, while 304 cm (120 in) falls in Lake Louise, which is located at a higher altitude.^[58]

During winter months, temperatures in Banff are moderated, compared to other areas of central and northern Alberta, due to Chinook winds and other influences from British Columbia.^[58] The mean low temperature during January is −15 °C (5 °F), and the mean high temperature is −5 °C (23 °F) for the town of Banff.^[59] However, temperatures can drop below −20 °C (−4.0 °F) with wind chill values dropping below −30 °C (−22.0 °F).^[58] Weather conditions during summer months are warm, with high temperatures during July averaging 22 °C (72 °F), and daily low temperatures averaging 7 °C (45 °F), leading to a large diurnal range owing to the relative dryness of the air.^[58][59]