Kootenay National Park is a protected area on the western edge of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. It covers about 347,400 acres (140,600 hectares) along the southeastern border of the province of British Columbia. Broad valleys, deep canyons, glaciers, and mineral springs are characteristic of the region. It bridges North America’s Great Divide, an imaginary line that separates streams that flow into the Pacific Ocean from those that flow into the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Arctic Ocean (see Great Divide ).
The climate within Kootenay varies by location and elevation. The southern part is warm and dry, while the north is cool and moist. In general, Kootenay has short, cool summers and long, snowy winters. The park has a variety of landscapes, including rocky, icy areas with little wildlife; cold, dry, treeless tundra regions; cool, wet forests and meadowlands; and warmer, drier evergreen forests. Prickly pear cactuses grow in the southwest, which receives little rainfall.
Grizzly and black bears, elk, mountain goats, lynx, moose, and bighorn sheep are just some of the animals that live in Kootenay. There are more than 280 species of birds. Whitefish and different kinds of trout swim in park waters.
Park activities include camping, fishing, horseback riding, mountaineering, cross-country skiing, and waterfall ice climbing. Radium Hot Springs, in Sinclair Canyon, draws many bathers. The Paint Pots, another attraction, are mineral springs that contain a mixture of clay and iron oxide. Native peoples once used this mixture to make dye. The 34-mile (55-kilometer) Rockwall Trail offers spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains.
At one time, the Kootenay region served as hunting grounds for the Ktunaxa and Shuswap, two native peoples of Canada. An agreement between the governments of British Columbia and Canada established Kootenay National Park in 1920. Along with six other national and provincial parks, it makes up the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) considers such sites to be areas of unique natural or cultural importance (see World Heritage List ).
