Banff National Park is Canada's first national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous terrain, with many glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. 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.
thumb|right|upright|Lower Consolation Lake
The mountains were formed from sedimentary rocks that were pushed east over newer rock strata, between 80 million and 55 million years ago. Over the past few million years, glaciers have at times covered most of the park; today they are found only on the mountain slopes, though they include the Columbia Icefield, the largest uninterrupted glacial mass in the Rockies. Erosion from water and ice have carved the mountains into their current shapes. Archaeological evidence at Vermilion Lakes indicates presence of Indigenous peoples for more than 10,000 years in the Banff area.
The Canadian Pacific Railway was instrumental in Banff's early years, building the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise, and attracting tourists through extensive advertising. In the early 20th century, roads were built in Banff, at times by war internees from World War I, and through Great Depression-era public works projects. The Icefields Parkway extends from Lake Louise, connecting to Jasper National Park in the north.
Since the 1960s, park accommodations have been open all year, with annual tourism visits to Banff increasing to over 5 million in the 1990s. Millions more pass through the park on the Trans-Canada Highway. As Banff has over three million visitors annually, the health of its ecosystem has been threatened. In the mid-1990s, Parks Canada responded by initiating a two-year study which resulted in management recommendations and new policies that aim to preserve ecological integrity.
Banff National Park has a subarctic climate with three ecoregions, including montane, subalpine, and alpine. The forests are dominated by Lodgepole pine at lower elevations and Engelmann spruce in higher ones below the treeline, above which is primarily rocks and ice. Mammal species such as the grizzly bear, cougar, wolverine, elk, bighorn sheep and moose are found, along with hundreds of bird species. Reptiles and amphibians are also found, but only a limited number of species have been recorded.
History
thumb|View from the summit of [[Sulphur Mountain (Alberta)|Sulphur Mountain, showing Banff and the surrounding areas]]
Throughout its history, Banff National Park has been shaped by tension between conservationist and land exploitation interests. The park was established on November 25, 1885, as Banff Hot Springs Reserve, in response to conflicting claims over who discovered hot springs there and who had the right to develop the hot springs for commercial interests. The conservationists prevailed when Prime Minister John A. Macdonald set aside the hot springs as a small protected reserve, which was later expanded to include Lake Louise and other areas extending north to the Columbia Icefield.
Indigenous peoples
Archaeological evidence found at Vermilion Lakes indicates the first human activity in Banff to 10,300 BP. Prior to European contact, the area that is now Banff National Park was home to many Indigenous Peoples, including the Stoney Nakoda, Ktunaxa, Tsuut'ina, Kainaiwa, Piikani, Siksika, and Plains Cree. Indigenous Peoples utilized the area to hunt, fish, trade, travel, survey and practice culture. and named Rocky Mountains Park. This was Canada's first national park, and the third established in North America, after Yellowstone and Mackinac National Parks. The Canadian Pacific Railway built the Banff Springs Hotel and Lake Louise Chalet to attract tourists and increase the number of rail passengers. Beginning in 1916, the Brewsters offered motorcoach tours of Banff. In 1920, access to Lake Louise by road was available, and the Banff-Windermere Road opened in 1923 to connect Banff with British Columbia. With the construction of a new east gate in 1933, Alberta transferred to the park. This, along with other minor changes in the park boundaries in 1949, set the area of the park at .
Internment and work camps
During World War I, immigrants from Austria-Hungary and Germany were sent to Banff to work in internment camps. The main camp was at Castle Mountain, and was moved to Cave and Basin during winter. Historical plaques and a statue erected by the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association commemorate those interned at Castle Mountain, and at Cave and Basin National Historic Site where an interpretive pavilion dealing with Canada's first national internment operations opened in September 2013.
thumb|[[Castle Mountain internment camp, 1915]]
In 1931, the Government of Canada enacted the Unemployment and Farm Relief Act which provided public works projects in the national parks during the Great Depression. In Banff, workers constructed a new bathhouse and pool at Upper Hot Springs, to supplement Cave and Basin. Most of the infrastructure present in the national park dates from public work projects enacted during the Great Depression. The carnival featured a large ice palace, which in 1917 was built by World War I internees. Carnival events included cross-country skiing, ski jumping, curling, snowshoe, and skijoring. In the 1930s, the first downhill ski resort, Sunshine Village, was developed by the Brewsters. Mount Norquay ski area was also developed during the 1930s, with the first chair lift installed there in 1948. In the 1950s, the Trans-Canada Highway was constructed, providing another transportation corridor through the Bow Valley, making the park more accessible.
During the 1980s, Parks Canada moved to privatize many park services such as golf courses, and added user fees for use of other facilities and services to help deal with budget cuts. In 1990, the town of Banff was incorporated, giving local residents more say regarding any proposed developments.
In the 1990s, development plans for the park, including expansion at Sunshine Village, were under fire with lawsuits filed by Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS). Jasper National Park borders Banff National Park to the north, while Yoho National Park is to the west and Kootenay National Park is to the south. Kananaskis Country, which includes Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park, Spray Valley Provincial Park, and Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, is located to the south and east of Banff.
The Trans-Canada Highway passes through Banff National Park, from the eastern boundary near Canmore, through the towns of Banff and Lake Louise, and into Yoho National Park in British Columbia. In its 2014 census, the town of Banff had a permanent population of 8,421 as well as 965 non-permanent residents for a total population of 9,386. The Bow River flows through the town of Banff, with the Bow Falls on the outskirts of town.
Lake Louise
thumb|[[Lake Louise, Alberta|Lake Louise]]
Lake Louise, a hamlet northwest of the town of Banff, is home to the landmark Chateau Lake Louise at the edge of Lake Louise. Located from Lake Louise, Moraine Lake provides a scenic vista of the Valley of the Ten Peaks. This scene is on the back of the Canadian $20 bill in the 1969–1979 ("Scenes of Canada") series. The Lake Louise Mountain Resort is also near the village. Lake Louise is one of the most visited lakes in the world and is framed to the southwest by the Mount Victoria Glacier.
Icefields Parkway
The Icefields Parkway is a road connecting Lake Louise to Jasper, Alberta. The Parkway originates at Lake Louise, and extends north up the Bow Valley, past Hector Lake, which is the largest natural lake in the park. and continues on from there to the Jasper townsite.
Geology
thumb|Castle Mountain
thumb|Two Jack Lake and Mount Rundle
The Canadian Rockies consist of several northwest–southeast trending ranges. Two main mountain ranges are within the park, each consisting of numerous subranges. The western border of the park follows the crest of the Main Ranges (also known as the Park Ranges), which is also the continental divide. The Main Ranges in Banff National Park include from north to south, the Waputik, Bow and Blue Ranges. The high peaks west of Lake Louise are part of the Bow Range. The eastern border of the park includes all of the Front Ranges consisting of from north to south, the Palliser, Sawback and Sundance Ranges. The Banff townsite is in the Front Ranges. Just outside the park to the east lie the foothills that extend from Canmore at the eastern entrance of the park eastward into the Great Plains. Well west of the park, the Western Ranges of the Rockies pass through Yoho and Kootenay National Parks.
The Canadian Rockies are composed of sedimentary rock, including shale, sandstone, dolomite and limestone. These sedimentary rocks formed at the bottom of shallow seas between 600 and 175 m.y.a. and were pushed east during the Laramide orogeny. Mountain building in Banff National Park ended approximately 55 m.y.a. Once mountain formation ceased, erosion carved the mountains into their present rugged shape.
Many of the mountain ranges trend northwest to southeast, with sedimentary layering dipping down to the west at 40–60 degrees.
Classic examples are found at the Banff townsite proper: Mount Rundle is a classic dip slope mountain. Dogtooth mountains, such as Mount Louis, exhibit sharp, jagged slopes. The erosion of these almost vertical layers of rock strata in the Sawback Range has resulted in formations that appear like the teeth on a saw blade. Erosion and deposition of higher elevation rock layers has resulted in scree deposits at the lowest elevations of many of the mountains.
Glaciers and icefields
Banff National Park has numerous large glaciers and icefields, 100 of which can be observed from the Icefields Parkway. Small cirque glaciers are fairly common in the Main Ranges, in depressions on the side of many mountains. As with the majority of mountain glaciers around the world, the glaciers in Banff are retreating. While Peyto Glacier is one of the longest continuously studied glaciers in the world, with research extending back to the 1970s, most of the glaciers of the Canadian Rockies have only been scientifically evaluated since the late 1990s. Outlets of the Wapta Icefield on the Banff side of the continental divide include Peyto, Bow, and Vulture Glaciers. Bow Glacier retreated an estimated between the years 1850 and 1953, and retreated approximately between 1999 and 2021. Peyto Glacier is at risk of losing 80-90% of its current mass by 2100.
thumb|The [[Columbia Icefield's Athabasca Glacier at the northern end of Banff]]
The Columbia Icefield, at the northern end of Banff, straddles the Banff and Jasper National Park border and extends into British Columbia. Snow Dome, in the Columbia Icefield is a hydrological apex of North America, with water flowing via outlet glaciers to the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Saskatchewan Glacier, which is approximately in length and in area,
Climate
thumb|[[Parker Ridge, near the Columbia Icefield]]
Under the Köppen climate classification, the park has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. The climate is influenced by altitude with lower temperatures generally found at higher elevations. Located on the eastern side of the Continental Divide, Banff National Park receives of precipitation annually.) is received at Wapta Lake and approximately at Boulder Creek annually. Being influenced by altitude, snowfall is also greater at higher elevations.
During winter months, temperatures in Banff are moderated, compared to other areas of central and northern Alberta, due to Chinook winds and other influences from British Columbia. The tree line in Banff lies approximately at , Caribou were the rarest large mammals in the park, but an avalanche in 2009 may have killed the last five remaining within park boundaries. The American bison was extirpated in Banff, but was brought back to the park in 2017, and one free-roaming herd lives within the protected area.
Due to the harsh winters, the park has few reptile and amphibian species with only one species of toad, three species of frog, one salamander species and two species of snakes that have been identified. and the woodland caribou.
Mountain pine beetles
Mountain pine beetles have caused a number of large-scale infestations in Banff National Park, feeding on the phloem of mature lodgepole pines. Alberta's first known outbreak occurred in 1940, infecting of forest in Banff. A second major outbreak occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s in Banff and the surrounding Rocky Mountains region.
Tourism
thumb|Skiing at Lake Louise
Banff National Park is the most visited Alberta tourist destination and one of the most visited national parks in North America, with more than three million tourists annually. Tourism in Banff contributes an estimated billion annually to the economy.
thumb|Mount Rundle and Sulphur Mountain as seen from the reeds along the shore of one of the Vermilion Lakes.
General management
thumb|Entry station for Banff National Park
Banff National Park is managed by Parks Canada, under the National Parks Act which was passed in 1930. Over time, park management policies have increasingly emphasized environmental protection over development. In 1964, a policy statement was issued that reiterated ideals of conservation laid out in the 1930 act. With the controversial bid for the 1972 Winter Olympics, environmental groups became more influential, leading Parks Canada to withdraw its support for the bid. The 1979 Beaver Book was a major new policy, which emphasized conservation. In 1988, the National Parks Act was amended, making the maintenance of ecological integrity the top priority. The amendment also paved the way for non-governmental organizations to challenge Parks Canada in court, for breaches in adhering to the act. In 1994, Parks Canada established revised "Guiding Principles and Operating Policies", which included a mandate for the Banff-Bow Valley Study to draft management recommendations.
Wildlife management
Previous management
The park was originally considered as a recreational area for visitors offering multiple leisure activities – the original wildlife policy viewed wildlife in Banff only as game or pests up until the 1960s and 1970s. As ecological awareness increased, management procedures expanded with the inclusion of public participation in many management decisions. Simultaneously, the increase in human construction (such as new highways) on the natural landscape increased the frequency of human–animal conflicts. In 1988 wildlife began to be considered an integral part of the ecosystem.
The park now has a number of wildlife management strategies that aim to conserve certain species. Parks Canada uses an ecosystem based management approach that aims to preserve the ecology of the park while still providing for visitors. Management decisions are based on modern scientific ecological information as well as traditional knowledge.
thumb|Bear-proof garbage can at Lake Louise
The state of grizzly bear populations in Banff is seen as a proxy for ecological integrity. To keep bears away from humans, an electric fence was put up around the summer gondola and parking lot at Lake Louise in 2001. Bear-proof garbage cans, which do not allow bears to access their contents, help to deter them from human sites. The fruit of buffaloberry bushes is eaten by bears, so the bushes have been removed in some areas where the risk of a bear–human encounter is high.
Aversive conditioning deters bears by modifying their behaviour. Deterrents such as noise makers and rubber bullets are used each time the bear performs an undesirable action. Advice is also given to people to avoid an eventual habituation of bears to human presence. If this conditioning is continual the bear will be less likely to continue the undesirable behaviour (crossing into campsites and roads etc.). There was concern over why more had not been done to save the caribou population. The primary reason for their decline is thought to have been habitat loss and altered predator–prey dynamics.
thumb|upright|Gray wolf
In the mid-1980s gray wolves recolonized the Bow Valley in Banff National Park. They had been absent for 30 years due to systematic predator control hunting which began in 1850. Wolves filtered back to Banff and recolonized one zone of the Bow Valley in 1985 and another in 1991. A high level of human use surrounding a third zone at Banff townsite has deterred the wolves from that area. The wolves are important in controlling elk populations and improve the balance of the ecosystem. A routine park study to monitor the wolves in Banff has now grown into the Southern Rockies Canine Project – the largest wolf research project in North America. The estimated wolf population in Banff National Park and the surrounding areas is now 60–70 animals. The park has an extensive system of grasslands in backcountry valleys that are perfect for the bison. 16 bison were translocated from Elk Island National Park and initially placed under observation for a year in an enclosed pasture within a reintroduction site near Panther River Valley. After 18 months of acclimation, the herd was released into the reintroduction site and as of August 2021, the herd had grown to 66.
Strategies
Wildlife crossings have been successful in Banff National Park at reducing the number of animals killed on the roads. There is also of fencing at the edge of the highway in the park to prevent animals from getting onto the roads. Since it was put up, this has reduced collisions between wildlife and vehicles by over 80 per cent.
Train tracks still pose challenges to conservationists. Many bears have been killed by trains, often because they are attracted to grain spills along the tracks. Transportation corridors provide openings for plants which are also utilized by bears. A trial instalment of the mats was placed in Banff to test their effectiveness in deterring animals like bears from gaining access to the fenced train tracks inside the park.
General prohibitions implemented to ensure wildlife respect include the prohibition of feeding, touching, or holding animals in captivity, and the disturbance or destruction of bird nests. Elk are not indigenous to Banff, and were introduced in 1917 with 57 elk brought in from Yellowstone National Park. The introduction of elk to Banff, combined with controls on coyote and wolves by Parks Canada beginning in the 1930s, has caused imbalance of the ecosystem. However, the wolf population has struggled, with 32 wolf deaths along the Trans-Canada Highway between 1987 and 2000, leaving only 31 wolves in the area.
The population of bull trout and other native species of fish in Banff's lakes has also dwindled, with the introduction of non-native species including brook trout, and rainbow trout. Lake trout, westslope cutthroat trout, and chiselmouth are rare native species, while chinook salmon, white sturgeon, Pacific lamprey, and Banff longnose dace are likely extirpated locally. The Banff longnose dace, once only found in Banff, is now an extinct species.