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Nahanni National Park Reserve - Canada

Posted by Ivica Miskovic | Wednesday, October 22, 2008 | | 2 comments »

Nahanni National Park Reserve in the Northwest Territories of Canada, approximately 500 kilometres (311 miles) west of Yellowknife, protects a portion of the Mackenzie Mountains Natural Region. The centrepiece of the park is the South Nahanni River. Four great canyons, called First, Second, Third and Fourth Canyon, line this spectacular whitewater river. The name Nahanni comes from the indigenous Dene language and can be translated as 'spirit.'

At Virginia Falls, the river plunges 90 metres (295 feet) in a thunderous plume. It is more than twice the height of Niagara Falls. In the center of the falls is a dramatic spire of resistant rock, called Mason's Rock after Bill Mason, the famous Canadian canoeist, author, and filmmaker. There is a proposal to rename the falls after former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Aside from the falls, there are many notable rapids on the river including Figure Eight, George's Riffle, and Lafferty's Riffle.

The park's sulphur hotsprings, alpine tundra, mountain ranges, and forests of spruce and aspen are home to many species of birds, fish and mammals. A visitor centre in Fort Simpson features displays on the history, culture and geography of the area. The park was among the world's first four natural heritage locations to be inscribed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1978.

Originally established in 1972, by then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the park was 4,766 square kilometres (1,840 square miles) in area. In 2003, an agreement between the Dehcho First Nations and Parks Canada gave temporary protection to 23,000 km² (8,880 sq mi).[2] In August 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that an extra 5,400 km² (2,085 sq mi) would be added, bringing the total area to 28,000 km² (10,811 sq mi), making Nahanni Canada's third largest national park.

The only practical way to get to Nahanni National Park is by float plane or by helicopter. Around 800-900 people visit the park every year.

credited to wikipedia and flickr users: kengibbard, Glenn Watson, imvnech, Richard Seeton, Lunch Poet, catosmr, kengibbard

2 comments

  1. Margaret Cloud // October 24, 2008 at 3:43 PM  

    What a beautiful park, too bad you can only reach it by plane. Do many people visit it anyway yearly?

  2. Anonymous // October 29, 2008 at 10:46 AM  

    Nahanni National Park Reserve is a World Heritage Site in the mountain wilderness of Canada's Northwest Territories along the South Nahanni River near the Yukon border.It has one of the most spectacular wild river canyons,wilderness waterfalls and limestone landscapes in North America.It contains a unique karst cave system, is home to animals of the boreal forest like wolves,grizzly bears and caribou and on the its alpine levels live dall sheep and mountain goats.
    Date and history of Establishment
    * 1972:Established as a National Park Reserve for its wilderness value;Canadian National Park status will follow settlement of aboriginal claims.
    * 1987:The section of the South Nahanni River in the Reserve was designated a Canadian Heritage River by the Canadian Heritage Rivers Board;1994: Reserve site extended.
    The Park lies in the northern section of the taiga cordilleran physiographic region;a diverse area of mountain ranges,rolling hills,high plateaus,broad depressions and incised valleys.The southern boundary edges the boreal cordillera and the eastern end reaches the taiga plains.The western end is formed by the Selwyn range of the Mackenzie Mountains and the sawtoothed igneous Ragged Range which both carry glaciers.
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