Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park

Last updated
Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park
Canada British Columbia location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Location East Kootenay, British Columbia, Canada
Nearest town Waterton Park, Alberta
Coordinates 49°01′30″N114°12′00″W / 49.02500°N 114.20000°W / 49.02500; -114.20000 (Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park)
Area10,921.5 ha (42.168 sq mi)
Designation Class A Provincial Park
EstablishedJuly 13, 1995
Governing body BC Parks
Website Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park
Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park

Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park is a provincial park located in the southeastern corner of British Columbia, Canada. The park was established by order-in-council on July 13, 1995 to protect the ecological integrity of a relatively narrow stretch of the Rocky Mountains in the southeastern corner of the province.

Contents

History and conservation

The trails and passes of the Akamina-Kishinena were used for many years by the early people's and wildlife travelling between the Flathead Basin and the abundant Great Plains. For instance, the Kootenai aboriginal people travelled through South Kootenay Pass to reach the plains for trading and buffalo hunting.

Since 1917, conservationists have advocated for the preservation of the Flathead River watershed the southeastern corner of the province. The park would compliment and be worthy of adding to the adjacent Waterton Glacier International Peace Park.

In 1986, the region was designated a provincial Recreation Area under the Park Act and was proposed for full protection under the Protected Areas Strategy (PAS) and Commission of Resources and Environment (CORE) process. The recreation area was then upgraded to the status of a "Class A" provincial park on July 12, 1995. [2]

Geography

Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park encompasses 10,921.5 hectares (26,988 acres) of high peaks and broad forested valleys in the watershed of the Flathead River. The park is adjacent to the much larger Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta and Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana, which together form the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park. The summit of the Akamina Pass, on the border with Alberta, is the easternmost point in British Columbia.

Ecology

The park preserves part of the habitat of the last self-sustaining grizzly bear population in the United States, as well as a winter range for goats and big horn sheep. Protected plant species include the rare Mimulus luteus (yellow monkey flower) and the rare Papaver pygmaeum (pigmy poppy) that are found nowhere else in BC.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental Divide of the Americas</span> Principal hydrological divide of North and South America

The Continental Divide of the Americas is the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas. The Continental Divide extends from the Bering Strait to the Strait of Magellan, and separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain into the Atlantic and Arctic Ocean, including those that drain into the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and Hudson Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Rockies</span> Mountain range in Canada

The Canadian Rockies or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, which is the northern segment of the North American Cordillera, the expansive system of interconnected mountain ranges between the Interior Plains and the Pacific Coast that runs northwest–southeast from central Alaska to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Robson Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

Mount Robson Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian Rockies with an area of 2,249 km2. The park is located entirely within British Columbia, bordering Jasper National Park in Alberta. The B.C. legislature created the park in 1913, the same year as the first ascent of Mount Robson by a party led by Conrad Kain. It is the second oldest park in the provincial system. The park is named for Mount Robson, which has the highest point in the Canadian Rockies and is located entirely within the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kootenay River</span> River in Western Canada and the United States

The Kootenay River or Kootenai River is a major river of the Northwest Plateau in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northern Montana and Idaho in the United States. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Kootenay River runs 781 kilometres (485 mi) from its headwaters in the Kootenay Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, flowing from British Columbia's East Kootenay region into northwestern Montana, then west into the northernmost Idaho Panhandle and returning to British Columbia in the West Kootenay region, where it joins the Columbia at Castlegar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterton Lakes National Park</span> National park in Alberta, Canada

Waterton Lakes National Park is in the southwest corner of Alberta, Canada. The national park borders Glacier National Park in Montana, United States. Waterton was the fourth Canadian national park, formed in 1895 as Kootenay Lakes Forest Reserve. It is named after Waterton Lake, in turn after the Victorian naturalist and conservationist Charles Waterton. Its range is between the Rocky Mountains and prairies. This park contains 505 km2 (195 sq mi) of rugged mountains and wilderness. It has a diverse ecosystem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

Tatshenshini-Alsek Park or Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Wilderness Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. The park is 9,580 km2 (3,700 sq mi) in size. It was established in 1993 after an intensive campaign by Canadian and American conservation organizations to halt mining exploration and development in the area, and protect the area for its strong natural heritage and biodiversity values.

Atlin/Áa Tlein Téix'i Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Situated in the remote northwestern corner of the province, the park protects large tracts of boreal forest, alpine tundra and glaciated terrain. The southern third of Atlin Lake, the largest natural body of freshwater in the province, is within the park boundary. The park is very undeveloped; no roads traverse it and no facilities, supplies, developed campsites or maintained hiking trails are available inside the park. The area has become a focal point in controversies involving proposed hydroelectric projects affecting Atlin Lake and environmental groups who view these proposals as potentially damaging to the lake's environment and its surroundings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooks Peninsula Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

Parts of this article have been adapted from the BC Parks website.

Elk Lakes Provincial Park is a provincial park in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located west of the continental divide. It is located adjacent to Height of the Rockies Provincial Park and is about 104 kilometers north of Sparwood. The park features sub-alpine landscapes, remnant glaciers, rugged peaks and productive lakes. Much of the park is above treeline and features several prominent mountains including Mount Fox, Mount Aosta, Mount McCuaig, and Mount Elkan. The Petain, Castelnau, Nivelle, and Elk Glaciers lie on the northeastern edge of the park. The following lakes are also present inside park boundaries: Upper and Lower Elk Lake, Frozen Lake, Fox Lake, Cadorna Lake, and Abruzzi Lake. Below the treeline, the park features mature growth forests of alpine fir, Engelmann spruce, and lodgepole pine. These trees are also intermingled with juniper, twinberry, false azalea, white rhododendron, and buffalo berry. The wildlife of the area includes Beaver, Snowshoe Hare, Red Squirrel, white-tailed deer, moose, and many varieties of birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamber Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

Hamber Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located 130 kilometres (80.7 mi) north of Golden. Straddling the Great Divide on the provincial boundary with Alberta, the park is surrounded on three sides by Jasper National Park and protects the headwaters of the Wood River at Fortress Lake.

Height of the Rockies Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian Rockies of south eastern British Columbia, Canada. It is located west of the Continental Divide, adjacent to Elk Lakes Provincial Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located around Mount Assiniboine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park and Protected Area</span> Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

The Purcell Wilderness Conservancy is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1974, and encompasses six large drainages in the Purcell Mountains in the southeast of the province. It contains high peaks, alpine meadows and ridges, deep creek and river valleys, and hot springs at Dewar Creek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BC Parks</span> Canadian government agency

BC Parks is an agency of the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy that manages all of the, as of 2020, 1,035 provincial parks and other conservation and historical properties of various title designations within the province's Parks oversaw of the British Columbia Parks and Protected Areas System. The Lieutenant Governor-in-Council created the agency on March 1, 1911, through the Strathcona Park Act. The agency is charged with a dual role of preserving the ecological and historical integrity of the places entrusted to its management, while also making them available and accessible for public use and enjoyment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hart Ranges</span> Subrange of the Northern Canadian Rockies in British Columbia, Canada

The Hart Ranges are a major subrange of the Canadian Rockies located in northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta. The mountains constitute the southernmost portion of the Northern Rocky Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Divide Trail</span> A long-distance hiking trail

The Great Divide Trail (GDT) is a wilderness hiking trail in the Canadian Rockies. The trail closely follows the Great Divide between Alberta and British Columbia, crossing the divide more than 30 times. Its southern terminus is in Waterton Lakes National Park at the Canada–US border and its northern terminus is at Kakwa Lake in Kakwa Provincial Park, north of Jasper National Park. The trail is 1,130 km (700 mi) long and ranges in elevation from 1,055 m (3,461 ft) at Old Fort Point trailhead near Jasper to 2,590 m (8,500 ft) at an unnamed pass above Michele Lakes just south of the White Goat Wilderness Area.

Andrew G. A. Russell, was a Canadian wilderness guide, outfitter, author, photographer, filmmaker, rancher, conservationist, and environmentalist. In recognition of his environmental advocacy he received honorary degrees from the University of Lethbridge, the University of Calgary, and the University of Alberta. In 1976, he received the Julian T. Crandall Award for his efforts in conservation, and in 1977 he was presented with the Order of Canada by the Governor General of Canada.

Castle Wildland Provincial Park is a wildland provincial park in southern Alberta, Canada. The designation of the park was established on 20 January 2017, with an effective date of 16 February 2017. The designation involved the protection of 79,678 hectares of land. The park is included in the South Saskatchewan Region Land Use Framework. The park, along with Castle Provincial Park, is managed under the Castle Management Plan. The park takes its name from the region including the Castle River and Castle Peak of Windsor Mountain. Despite the name, it is not associated with Castle Mountain which is in Banff National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akamina Ridge</span> Ridge in British Columbia, Canada

Akamina Ridge is a mountain in British Columbia, Canada.

References

  1. "Protected Planet | Akamina-Kishinena Park". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  2. "Management Direction Statement for Akamina-Kishenina Provincial Park" (PDF). bcparks.ca. May 1999. Retrieved 2020-10-22.