Glacier National Park is an American national park located on the Canada–United States border. The park is located in the northwestern state of Montana in the United States and borders the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia on the Canadian side. The park covers an area of over one million acres (4,000 km2) and includes two mountain ranges (sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains), over 130 named lakes, over 1,000 different plant species, and hundreds of species of wildlife. This vast ancient ecosystem, which is part of a 16,000-square-mile (41,000 km2) protected land area, has been referred to as the “Crown of the Continent Ecosystem”.
Glacier National Park contains nearly all native native plant and animal species. Large mammals such as grizzly, bears, moose, and mountain goats, as well as rare or endangered species such as the wolverine and Canadian lynx, also inhabit the park. Hundreds of species of birds, more than a dozen species of fish, and a few reptile and amphibian species have been documented here. The park contains several ecosystems, from prairie to tundra. The southwestern part of the park consists of western redneck and hemlock forests. Fire is a common occurrence in park forests. The park has caught fire every year except in 1964. There were 64 fires in 1936 which is the most on record. Six fires in 2003 burned approximately 136,000 acres (550 km), more than 13% of the park.
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History
According to archaeological evidence, the original inhabitants first came to the glacial area some 10,000 years ago. The Blackfeet tribe inhabited the Great Plain to the east, along the eastern slope that is now part of the park. The Blackfeet Indian Reservation is today on the eastern boundary of the park, while the Flathead Indian Reservation is located to the west and south of the park. In 1895, Blackfeet chief White Cow authorized the sale of approximately 800,000 acres of mountain territory to the US government for $1.5 million. on the condition that they would be able to use the land for hunting as long as it remained a United States public land. This established the current boundary between the park and the sanctuary.
Traveling up the Marias River in 1806, the Lewis and Clark expedition came within 50 miles (80 km) of the area that is now the park. A series of discoveries after 1850 shaped the understanding of the area. He helped lay out what later became the garden. In 1885 George Byrd Grinnell hired famed explorer (and later well-known author) James Willard Schultz to guide him on a hunting expedition to the region. After several more visits to the area, Grinnell settled here He was so moved by the landscape that he spent the next two decades trying to establish it as a national park. In 1901 Grinnell wrote a description of the region which he called the “Crown of the Continent”. His efforts to protect the land made him a major contributor to the campaign.
In 1891 the Great Northern Railway reached the Continental Divide at Marias Pass at 5,213 feet (1,589 m) which forms the southern boundary of the park. The park was designated as a forest preserve in 1897. Mining was still permitted within the forest, but did not become commercially successful. In 1910, a bill was introduced in the US Congress that designated the area a national park. The bill was signed into law by President William Hoover Taft in 1910. The Great Northern Railway, under President Louis W. Hill, built several hotels and chalets to promote tourism throughout the region in the 1910s. Make it These buildings were modeled on Swiss architecture as part of a plan to portray Glacier as the “Switzerland of America”.
When the park was fully developed and visitors began to travel by car, work began on the 53-mile (85 km) long “Going-to-the-Sun Road”. It was completed in 1932. It is also known as “Sun Road”. This is the only road that leads inside the park. Sun Road is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1985. Another route along the southern boundary between the park and the national forest is US Route 2. , which crosses the continental divide at Marias Pass and connects the towns of West Glacier and East Glacier.
Geography
The park is bordered to the north by Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park and British Columbia’s Flathead Provincial Forest and Akamina-Kishnina Provincial Park. To the west, the northern stream of the Flathead River forms the western boundary while its middle stream forms part of the southern boundary. Is. The Blackfeet Indian Reservation forms most of the eastern boundary. The Lewis and Clark and Flathead National Forests form the southern and western boundaries.
The park has a dozen large and 700 small lakes, but only 131 of them are named. It is the largest lake in the U.S. and the deepest with 464 feet (141 m). Several small lakes, known as tarns, are located in glacial moraines formed by glacial erosion. Some of these lakes, such as Avalanche Lake and Cracker Lake, have an opaque turquoise color due to suspended glacial silt. Because of this many streams coming out of the lakes appear milky white in colour. The lakes of Glacier National Park remain cold throughout the year. Temperatures on their surface rarely exceed 50 °F (10 °C). These types of cold water lakes are adapted to plankton growth, which makes the lake water remarkably clear. . With the lack of plankton, the rate of pollution filtration is reduced. Due to which the period of stay of pollutants in water increases. As a result, lakes are considered pioneers in environmental pollution measurements because they can be quickly affected by even small increases in pollutants.
There are two hundred waterfalls spread throughout the park. However, during periods of drought, many of these are reduced to smaller streams. The largest waterfalls include McDonald’s Falls in the Two Medicine area and Swiftcurrent Falls in the Meany Glacier area. These can be easily seen and there are many glacier hotels near it. One of the tallest waterfalls is Bird Woman Falls, which plunges 492 feet (150 m) over a hanging canyon below the north slope of Oberlin Mountain.
The rocks found in the park are mainly sedimentary rocks of the Belt Supergroup. They were deposited in shallow seas between 1.6 billion and 800 million years ago. During the formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, an area of rocks now known as the Lewis Overthrust was pushed 50 miles (80 km) to the east. This overthrust was several miles (kilometres) thick and hundreds of miles (kilometres) long.
Glacier
Glacier National Park is dominated by mountains that were carved into their present-day shapes by massive glaciers from the last ice age. These glaciers have largely disappeared within the last 12,000 years. Evidence of widespread glaciation is found throughout the park in U-shaped valleys, ice caverns, sharp ridges and large outflow lakes radiating like fingers from the base of the highest peaks. Since the end of the Ice Age, warming and cooling trends of the region have occurred several times. The last recent cooling trend was during the Little Ice Age, which occurred between about 1550 and 1850. During the Little Ice Age, glaciers in the park expanded and advanced, although far behind the expansion during the Ice Age.
During the mid-20th century, examination of maps and photographs from the previous century provided clear evidence that the 150 glaciers present in the park a hundred years earlier had greatly receded, and in many cases had disappeared entirely. 1938 and Between 2009 and 2009 there is visual confirmation of their melting by continuous photographs of glaciers.
The effect of glacial receding on the park’s ecosystems is not fully known, but plant and animal species that depend on the cold waters may become extinct due to habitat loss. Shrinking glaciers can affect water flow due to less melting during the dry summer and fall seasons, reducing water levels and increasing the risk of wildfires. Glacier loss also reduces the aesthetic visual appeal that visitors come to see.
Climate
As the park straddles the continental divide, and has over 7,000 feet (2,100 m) of elevation variation, several climates and microclimates are found in the park. As with other alpine systems, the average temperature generally decreases with increasing altitude. The western part of the park has a warm and humid climate due to the low elevation of the Pacific watershed. Precipitation is highest during the winter and spring, with an average of 2 to 3 inches (50 to 80 mm) per month. Snowfall can occur at any time of the year, and especially in the summer at higher elevations. Winter is characterized by prolonged cold waves, especially along the eastern side of the continental divide, which has higher elevations. Snowfall is significant during the winter, with the greatest accumulation in the west. During the tourist season, daytime high temperatures average 16 to 21 °C (60 to 70 °F), and nighttime lows typically drop to 4 °C (40 °F). Temperatures can get very cold in the higher region. In the lower western valleys, summer daytime temperatures can reach 30 °C (90 °F).
The air and water quality in the glacier is considered excellent. No major areas of dense human population exist nearby and industrial influences in the area are minimal due to the lack of factories and other potential contributors to pollutants. However, the sterile and cold lakes found throughout the park are easily protected from wind-borne pollutants. Water that falls on the lake during rain or snowfall, and some evidence of these pollutants has been found in the park’s water. Wildfires can also affect water quality. However, pollution levels are currently considered negligible, and the water in the park’s lakes and other water bodies has been assigned an A-1 quality rating, the highest rating given by the state of Montana.
Flora
The glacier is part of a larger protected ecosystem collectively known as the “Crown of the Continent Ecosystem”, which is mainly virgin forest of a pristine quality. Virtually all plant and wildlife species that existed at the time of European explorers are still present in the park.
A total of 1,132 plant species have been identified in the park. The predominantly coniferous forest is home to various tree species such as Engelmann spruce, Douglas fir, subalpine fir, limerin pine and western larch, a deciduous conifer that takes the shape of a cone but loses its top every winter. It happens. Cottonwood and aspen are the more common deciduous trees and the lower elevations are usually found along the banks of lakes and streams. The tree lines on the eastern side of the park are approximately 800 feet (244 m) lower than those on the western side of the Continental Divide, due to exposure to the cold winds and weather of the plains. To the west of the continental divide, forests receive more moisture and are more protected from winter, resulting in more dense populations of tall trees. Above the forested valleys and mountain slopes, conditions of the alpine tundra prevail, in which grasses and small plants survive in an area that remains without snow cover for up to three months. Thirty species of plants are found only in the park and surrounding national forests. Beargrass, a tall flowering plant, is commonly found near moist sources, and is relatively abundant during July and August. Monkeyflower, glacier lily, fireweed, balsamroot and Indian paintbrush are common wildflowers.
The forested sections fall into three major climatic zones. spruce and fir dominate in the west and northwest, and red cedar and hemlock in the southwest; East of the continental divide is a combination of mixed pine, spruce, fir, and prairie zones. The cedar-hemlock groves near Lake McDonald are the easternmost examples of this Pacific climate ecosystem.
Fauna
The park provides biologists with an intact ecosystem for plant and animal research, with the presence of virtually all historically known plant and animal species, with the exception of bison and woodland reindeer. Two endangered species of mammals, the brown bear and the bobcat, are found in the park. Although their numbers are at historical levels, in almost every other region of the US outside Alaska, they are either extremely rare or absent from their historical range, leading to both being listed as endangered species. On average, there are one or two bear attacks on humans each year; Since the park’s creation in 1910, there have been a total of 10 bear attack-related deaths. The number of bears and lynx in the park is unknown for certain, but park biologists believed that as of 2008 the number of bears in the park was upwards of 300. The exact population figures of brown and little black bears are unknown, but biologists are using several methods to determine precise population limits. According to another study, the wolverine, a very rare mammal from other 48 states, is also found in the park. Other mammals such as mountain goats (the official park symbol), bighorn sheep, moose, elk, mule deer, skunk, white-tailed deer, bobcats, coyotes, and cougars are either plentiful or common. Unlike Yellowstone National Park, where a wolf reintroduction program was implemented in the 1990s, it is believed that wolves naturalized in Glacier National Park during the 1980s. Sixty species of mammals have been documented, including badgers, river otters, porcupines, minks, martens, fishers, two species of ground squirrels, six species of bats, and many other small mammals.
A total of 260 species of birds have been recorded, including the annual bald eagle, golden eagle, peregrine falcon, osprey and several species of falcon. The harlequin duck is a colorful species found in lakes and streams. The great blue heron, tundra swan, Canada goose and American pigeon are some of the waterfowl species commonly found in the park. Horned owl, Clark’s nutcracker, Steller’s jay, pileated woodpecker and cedar waxwing inhabit the dense forests, and at higher elevations, tormigan, timberline sparrow and rosy finch are most commonly seen. Due to the decline in numbers, Clark’s nutcracker is less visible than in previous years.
Only six species of amphibians have been documented in the park, although those species are present in large numbers. A total of 23 species of fish live in the lakes and rivers here. The park is also home to the endangered bull trout, the hunting of which is illegal and calls for being released back into the water if caught unintentionally.
Tourism
This glacier is away from major cities. The closest airport is in Kalispell, Montana, southwest of the park. Amtrak trains stop at East and West Glacier and downtown Essex. A fleet of 1930s White Motor Company coaches, called Red Jammers, provide tours along all of the park’s main routes. The tour buses were rebuilt in 2001 by Ford Motor Company. The vehicle’s bodywork was stripped from its original chassis and built on a modern Ford E-Series van chassis. They run on propane to reduce their environmental impact.
Historic wooden boats were introduced on some of the larger lakes in the 1920s. Several of these boats have been in continuous seasonal operation in Glacier National Park since 1927 and can carry a total of 80 passengers. Three of these decades-old boats were added to the National Register of Historic Places in January 2018.
Hiking is popular in the park. More than half of visitors agree to hike the park’s approximately 700 miles (1,127 km) of trails. Dogs are not allowed on any of the trails in the park due to the presence of bears and other large mammals. However dogs are allowed in camps that are accessible by vehicles and paved roads. Anyone entering the United States from Canada by land or water is required to have a passport.
Winter recreation at the glacier is limited. Snowmobiles are illegal throughout the park. Cross-country skiing is permitted in low-elevation valleys away from avalanche prone areas.
Edited from Wikipedia and Encyclopedia