Sunshine Meadows

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The Sunshine Meadows are a natural garden set at an altitude of approximately 2,300 metres (7,500 feet). It is located within the peaks of the Canadian Rocky Mountains of Banff National Park. [1] From the vantage point of Sunshine Meadows one has a clear view of Mount Assiniboine, the highest peak in the region at 3,618 metres (11,870 feet). Sunshine Meadows is located 18 km directly southwest of Banff, Alberta, and spans along both sides of the Continental Divide (between Alberta and British Columbia).

Banff National Park national park in Alberta, Canada

Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park and was established in 1885. Located in the Rocky Mountains, 110–180 kilometres (68–112 mi) west of Calgary in the province of Alberta, Banff encompasses 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi) of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. The Icefields Parkway extends from Lake Louise, connecting to Jasper National Park in the north. Provincial forests and Yoho National Park are neighbours to the west, while Kootenay National Park is located to the south and Kananaskis Country to the southeast. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of Banff, in the Bow River valley.

Banff, Alberta Town in Alberta, Canada

Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately 126 km (78 mi) west of Calgary and 58 km (36 mi) east of Lake Louise. At 1,400 to 1,630 m above sea level, Banff is the community with the second highest elevation in Alberta, after Lake Louise.

Alberta Province of Canada

Alberta is a western province of Canada. With an estimated population of 4,067,175 as of 2016 census, it is Canada's fourth most populous province and the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces. Its area is about 660,000 square kilometres (250,000 sq mi). Alberta and its neighbour Saskatchewan were districts of the Northwest Territories until they were established as provinces on September 1, 1905. The premier has been Rachel Notley since May 2015.

Contents

Access

There is no public road access to Sunshine Meadows, and thus it can be reached either by hiking several kilometres from the area of the Sunshine Village ski resort, located near the resort town of Banff, or by using the Gondola (Fri-Mon) or Alpine Shuttle Bus (Tues-Thurs) which departs from the Sunshine Village base area. You can book tickets for the shuttle or gondola in advance at http://www.banffsunshinemeadows.com . Guided group hikes with lunch and transportation from Banff is also available. Sunshine Meadows has established a system of well-graded, hardened trails to take the hiker out into the surrounding sub-alpine and above tree line habitats. Visitors to the meadows are required to stay on these trails to protect the fragile alpine [[vegetation]

Tree line edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing

The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions. The tree line is sometimes distinguished from a lower timberline or forest line, which is the line below which trees form a forest with a closed canopy.

The main hiking trail travels past Rock Isle Lake, continuing west of the ski area, before finally descending back down to the Sunshine Village Day Lodge. This 5.8 km loop has an elevation gain of 170 metres. Other trails branch off from this main loop to other regions of the meadows.

Scenery

It is the unique mountain scenery which makes Sunshine Meadows a notable habitat. Sunshine Meadows offers a colourful array of wildflowers and other alpine tree line vegetation. The fragile alpine terrain has a growing season of just a few months, as the area is covered by snow October to mid-June. Situated at 2,300 metres, the temperatures drop below freezing in every month of the year. In July and August temperatures can range from 30 degrees Celsius above zero to freezing. [2] The field of fragile wildflowers and lichens blooms into colour in mid-June, and nature is in full bloom July through August. In September the scenery alters dramatically, with the larches turning yellow and red in the season’s final burst of colour.

Celsius Scale and unit of measurement for temperature

The Celsius scale, also known as the centigrade scale, is a temperature scale used by the International System of Units (SI). As an SI derived unit, it is used by all countries except the United States, the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands and Liberia. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who developed a similar temperature scale. The degree Celsius (°C) can refer to a specific temperature on the Celsius scale or a unit to indicate a difference between two temperatures or an uncertainty. Before being renamed to honor Anders Celsius in 1948, the unit was called centigrade, from the Latin centum, which means 100, and gradus, which means steps.

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References

  1. ↑ Robert W. Sandford, Sunshine: Its Human and Natural Heritage (1984)
  2. ↑ Robert W. Sandford, Sunshine: Its Human and Natural Heritage (1984), page 56
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