The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site is located in the Canadian Rockies. It consists of seven contiguous parks including four national parks:
- Banff
- Jasper
- Kootenay
- Yoho
and three British Columbia provincial parks:
- Hamber Provincial Park
- Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park
- Mount Robson Provincial Park
The parks include mountains, glaciers, and hot springs and the headwaters of major North American river systems including:
- North Saskatchewan River
- Athabasca River
- Columbia River
- Fraser River
The area is known for its natural environment and biological diversity. It includes the Burgess Shale site, a World Heritage Site in its own right from 1980 to 1984, when it was included in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks WHS designation.
Video Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
In 1983 Canada nominated Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho national parks for inclusion on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. UNESCO accepted this nomination in 1984 on the basis of a recommendation by IUCN. The original nomination and IUCN's recommendation drew attention to the area's "exceptional natural beauty", "habitats of rare and endangered species" and its natural landforms such as mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, canyons, limestone caves, and the unique Burgess Shale fossils. That year the UNESCO World Heritage Committee "requested the Canadian authorities to consider adding the adjacent Provincial Parks of Mount Robson, Hamber, Mount Assiniboine and Kananaskis" to the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks site. At a 1990 meeting, "the Committee welcomed the Canadian proposal to include, in the Rocky Mountains Parks site, Mount Robson, Hamber and Assiniboine Provincial Parks, following its request at its Eighth Session in 1984." Kananaskis (renamed Peter Lougheed Provincial Park) has not been included within the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage site.
Maps Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site
See also
- List of National Parks of Canada
- List of World Heritage Sites in the Americas
- List of British Columbia provincial parks
- List of protected areas of Alberta
References
External links
- Park page at UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Climbing the clouds Virtual exhibit of British Columbia mountaineering
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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