Kluane, << kloo WAH nee, >> National Park and Reserve is a protected area in Yukon, Canada. It covers about 5,451,400 acres (2,206,100 hectares) of mountainous land in Yukon’s southwestern corner. The park borders Alaska and British Columbia. Kluane’s western edge meets Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, the largest national park in the United States. Kluane and Wrangell-St. Elias parks are part of the Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek World Heritage Site. Such sites are designated places of unique cultural or natural importance by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The Wrangell and Saint Elias mountain ranges dominate Kluane National Park and Reserve. Canada’s highest peak, the 19,551-foot (5,959-meter) Mount Logan, rises in the western part of the park. The park features numerous ice fields and glaciers. Kluane’s climate is cool in summer and cold in winter. The southern part of the park usually has higher temperatures and more precipitation because of its nearness to the Pacific coast.
Kluane’s animal population includes beavers, black and grizzly bears, caribou, minks, mountain goats, otters, red foxes, wolverines, and wolves. Arctic terns, bald and golden eagles, and peregrine falcons are among the many types of birds found in the park. Although Kluane’s highest mountain areas consist largely of treeless tundra, the park has a rich diversity of plant life. It has sloping grasslands, summer wildflowers, and forests of balsam poplar, quaking aspen, and white spruce.
In the warmer months, activities at Kluane National Park and Reserve include fishing, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, mountain climbing, and rafting. Winter activities include cross-country skiing, dog sledding, and snowshoeing. Airplane and helicopter tours take visitors over the park’s landscape.
The government of Canada established Kluane National Park and Reserve in 1972. UNESCO declared the Kluane and Wrangell-St. Elias parks a World Heritage Site in 1979. The organization expanded the site to include Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park (British Columbia) in 1992, and Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve (Alaska) in 1994.
See also Mount Logan .
