Banff National Park, Alberta

Banff National Park - details and images

Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, founded in 1885, the Canadian Rockies. The park, located 120 km (80 miles) west of Calgary in Alberta province, comprises 6641 square kilometers (2.564 miles square) of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers and ice plateaus, dense coniferous forests and alpine areas. Icefields Parkway extends from Lake Louise, connecting to Jasper National Park in the north.

Provincial forests and Yoho National Park are neighbors to the west, while Kootenay National Park is located to the south and south-east of Kananaskis Country. The main commercial center of the park is the town Banff, located in the Bow River valley. Canadian Pacific Railway had a major impact in the early years of the Banff site, building the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise, attracting tourists through extensive advertising.
In the early twentieth century, roads were built by prisoners of war Banff and public works during the Great Depression. Since 1960, accommodation facilities have been opened throughout the year, the rate of visiting Banff's annual increase of over 5 million in 90 years, Trans Canada Highway across the park.

Throughout its history, Banff National Park has been shaped by tensions between conservation and development interests. The park was founded in 1885 in response to conflicting claims made about who discovered the hot springs, and who has the right to commercially develop the area. Instead, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald has established the thermal waters as protected reserve, which was later expanded to include Lake Louise and other areas, stretching north to Columbia Icefields.

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