Kluane National Park and Reserve

Kluane National Park and Reserve
IUCN category II (national park)

Quill Creek
Kluane National Park and Reserve

Location of Kluane National Park in Canada

Location Yukon, Canada
Nearest city Haines Junction
Coordinates 60°37′10″N 138°19′52″W / 60.61943°N 138.331°W / 60.61943; -138.331Coordinates: 60°37′10″N 138°19′52″W / 60.61943°N 138.331°W / 60.61943; -138.331
Area 22,013 km2 (8,499 sq mi)
Established 1972
Governing body Parks Canada

Kluane National Park and Reserve are two units of Canada's national park system, located in the extreme southwestern corner of the territory of Yukon. Kluane National Park Reserve was established in 1972, covering 22,013 square kilometers (8,499 square miles).

The park includes the highest mountain in Canada, Mount Logan (5,959 meters or 19,551 feet) of the Saint Elias Mountains. Mountains and glaciers dominate the park's landscape, covering 83% of its area. The rest of the land in the park is forest and tundra—east of the largest mountains and glaciers—where the climate is colder and drier than in the western and southern parts of the park. Trees grow only at the park's lowest elevations. The primary tree species are white spruce, balsam poplar and trembling aspen.[1][2] The park contains about 120 species of birds, including the rock ptarmigan and the golden and bald eagles.

Activities

A day-use area with boat launch, picnic facilities and campground is located at Kathleen Lake, and is operated from mid-May to mid-September.[3] Hiking is a popular activity on trails such as St. Elias Lake, Mush Lake Road, Shorty Creek, Cottonwood, Rock Glacier, King's Throne, Kokanee, Auriol, Dezadeash River Trail, Alsek Trail, Sheep Creek Trail, Bullion Plateau Trail, Slims West or Soldiers Summit. Rafting on the Alsek River (a Canadian Heritage river), mountain biking on old mining roads, horseback riding through the Alsek Pass, boating on Kathleen Lake and Mush Lake as well as fishing for lake trout, Arctic grayling, rainbow trout, northern pike and sockeye salmon are also among activities available in the park.

The park was the subject of a short film in 2011's National Parks Project, directed by Louise Archambault and scored by Graham Van Pelt, Ian D'Sa and Mishka Stein.

In August 2013, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. visited the park to see Mount Kennedy.[4]

Fauna

Animals that inhabit this park include timber wolves, coyotes, minks, lynxes, river otters, caribou, Alaskan moose, muskrats, snowshoe hares, marmots, red foxes, beavers, wolverines, mountain goats, and arctic ground squirrels.

World Heritage Site

Glaciers in the Kluane Icefield

The bi-national Kluane-Wrangell-St. Elias-Glacier Bay-Tatshenshini-Alsek park system comprising Kluane, Wrangell-St Elias, Glacier Bay and Tatshenshini-Alsek parks, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 for the spectacular glacier and icefield landscapes as well as for the importance of grizzly bears, caribou and Dall sheep habitat.

In a 2009 census of the Kluane herd, there were 181 northern mountain caribou, a distinct ecotype of the woodland caribou.[5]

First Nations presence

Kluane National Park lies within the traditional territories of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and Kluane First Nation who have a long history of living in this region. Through their respective Final Agreements with the Canadian Government, they have made into law their rights to harvest in this region.

Donjek Valley

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kluane National Park and Reserve of Canada". Parks Canada. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  2. ↑ "Kluane National Park and Reserve of Canada: Fact Sheet". Parks Canada. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  3. ↑ Parks Canada (July 2006). "Kluane National Park and Reserve of Canada Activities". Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  4. ↑ Speakers' Spotlight – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Journeys To The Yukon To Visit Mount Kennedy. Speakers.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
  5. ↑ Hegel, Troy; Russell, Kyle (2010), Aishihik and Kluane Northern Mountain Caribou Herds Census, 2009 (PDF) (SR-10-02), Yukon Government, retrieved 2014-12-17

Further reading

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