'Yoho National Park' is located in the Canadian
Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the
Continental Divide in southeastern
British Columbia. Yoho NP is bordered by
Kootenay National Park on the southern side and
Banff National Park on the eastern side. The name Yoho comes from a
Cree word expressing amazement.
Yoho covers 1,313 km² (507 mi²) and it is the smallest of the four contiguous
national parks (NP). Yoho, together with
Jasper NP, Kootenay NP and Banff NP, along with three British Columbia provincial parks—
Hamber Provincial Park,
Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, and
Mount Robson Provincial Park—form the
Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site.
The park's administrative offices and visitor centre are located in the town of
Field, British Columbia, beside the
Trans-Canada Highway.
World Heritage Site
This park was declared a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, together with the other
national and
provincial parks that form the
Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, for the mountain landscapes containing mountain peaks,
glaciers, lakes, waterfalls,
canyons and limestone caves as well as
fossils found here.
Geology
The
Kicking Horse River, a Canadian Heritage river, originates in the Wapta and Waputik icefields in the park. This mighty river has created a Natural Bridge through solid rock. This formation is located 3 km west of Field, accessible from the road to
Emerald Lake.
The
Canadian Rockies consist of
sedimentary rock, with numerous
fossil deposits. In particular, the
Burgess Shale, located in Yoho National Park, has among the world's richest deposits of rare fossils. The Burgess Shale was discovered in 1909 by
Charles Doolittle Walcott.
There are many wildflowers in this park. If you go to the mountainous side of it, you will find a great quantity of mountain wildflowers. The two main animals found in this park are grizzly bears and moose.
See also
★
List of Canadian national parks
★
Mount Burgess
★
Takakkaw Falls
★
Twin Falls
External links
★
Park's Canada web site (bilingual)
★
A travel guide for Yoho National Park and the village of Field, BC
★
Yoho National Park on the Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia ( Bivouac.com)
★
'Parks Canada - Official National Parks and Mountain Guide'