Nahanni National Park Reserve

thumb|[[Tufa found in Nahanni National Park]]

The Nahanni National Park Reserve, sometimes known as "Headless Valley" or "Valley of The Headless Men" (after a series of unsolved historical deaths in the park), in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada (approximately west of Yellowknife), The word nahanni comes from the local Dene name for the area, Nahʔa Dehé, which means "river of the land of the Nahʔa people". The park is inscribed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

Geography

There are several different landforms in the park that have taken millions of years to form, giving it a topographical diversity not seen in any other national park in Canada. Sediments, left by an ancient inland sea present some 500–200 million years ago, have since become pressed into coloured layers of rock. These layers, stacked about deep, are peppered with fossilised remnants of the varied organisms that once swam the ancient seas, beginning well before the time of the dinosaurs. As the continents shifted, the North American and Pacific Plates collided, the force of which forced layers of rock upwards. Ridges of rock thus bent and broke, leaving behind the mountain ranges seen today. This same action also causes volcanic activity, sending magma into (but not through) the sedimentary rock. While there are no active volcanoes in the park, towers of heated rock (igneous batholiths) were sent upwards, pushing the sediment further up. The top layer of sedimentary rock was eventually worn-away, resulting in granite towers that form the Ragged Range. The falls were initially located downstream at the east end of Fourth Canyon, but, over the centuries, have carved their way backwards through the limestone that lines the river. This continuous erosion shifted the falls upstream and created the Fourth Canyon. Downstream from the falls are many infamous river rapids, sought-out by adventurers each year, including the well-known "Figure Eight", and "George's Riffle" and "Lafferty's Riffle".

Rabbitkettle Hotsprings

thumb|Third Canyon, Nahanni River

The Rabbitkettle (Gahnîhthah) Hotsprings and tufa mounds () are the largest of tufa mounds in Canada. The largest of the mounds, the North Mound, is high and across.

Flora and fauna

The park's sulphur hot springs, alpine tundra, mountain ranges, and forests of spruce and aspen are home to many species of birds, fish and mammals. The park lies within three of Canada's ecozones, the Taiga Cordillera in the west, the Taiga Plains in the east and a small southern portion in the Boreal Cordillera.

According to Parks Canada, there are about 42 mammal species in the park, in addition to around 180 types of bird, 16 fishes and a few hardy amphibians, with the wood frog being the most commonly-found in the region. In the State of the Park Report 2009, the NWT government named ten special-concern, threatened, or endangered species that the Nahanni National Park Reserve provides appropriate year-round or seasonal habitat for, according to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). These include the common nighthawk, grizzly bear, olive-sided flycatcher, peregrine falcon, rusty blackbird, short-eared owl, wood bison, woodland caribou, wolverine and yellow rail. In addition, the bull trout and the Nahanni aster are listed, but without status; the Canada warbler and western toad are listed as possibly existing in the park.

Mammal species found in the park include the American black bear, American mink, beaver, Arctic ground squirrel, Canada lynx, collared pika, Dall sheep, fisher, grey wolf, hoary bat, hoary marmot, least chipmunk, least weasel, moose, muskrat, northern myotis, mule deer, pine marten, red fox, red squirrel, river otter, Rocky Mountain goat, snowshoe hare, white-tailed deer and several types of shrew and vole.

First contact with European fur traders expanding into the region occurred in the 18th century, and was increased with Alexander Mackenzie's exploration of the Mackenzie River (Deh Cho), and building of trading posts at Fort Simpson and Fort Liard. At both of these John McLeod, a Scottish explorer of the area, was to serve as manager. During the 19th century, most Dene families left their nomadic lifestyles and settled into more permanent communities, often close to the trading posts. Permanent settlements were established at locations such as Nahanni Butte, Fort Liard and Fort Simpson. In the years that followed, mysterious deaths of other prospectors added to the legends. Alternative names given to the park, which include Deadmen Valley, Headless Creek, Headless Range and the Funeral Range, bear testimony to these stories and legends.

In 1946 Calgary geologist and mining expert Frank M. W. Henderson returned from the valley reporting his partner John Patterson had disappeared. Henderson and Patterson had agreed to meet at a point near Virginia Falls. The first to arrive would leave a message on a large tree which both knew from previous trips. Henderson arrived first and left his message before travelling into the valley. He returned several weeks later only to find there was still no message left by Patterson. Henderson and his party of Indigenous packers camped there a few days, but one night he was awoken by a member of his party who warned of "white figures" moving along the valley. Despite Henderson's argument that it was simply a reflection of the Aurora Borealis, he was unable to convince his companions, who left soon after the incident, to stay with him.

In 1947 author Pierre Berton was sent by The Vancouver Sun to cover the north. He, along with pilot Russ Baker, flew up the Headless Valley. Writing on his journey for Macleans Berton remarked, "Frank Henderson himself, a man who perhaps has good reason not to want too many people rushing into the valley, was quoted as saying, on his return from the area last fall, 'There is absolutely no denying the sinister atmosphere of that whole valley. The weird, continual wailing of the wind is something I won't soon forget.'"

In 1964, explorer parachutist Jean Poirel from Montreal jumped at its source north of Yellowknife, followed by his teammate Bertrand Bordet. Jean Poirel imagined the idea of going down the river with inflatable dinghies. During the following four consecutive expeditions in the valley Jean Poirel discovered more than 250 caverns. The most important contained 116 Dall sheep's skeletons (carbon-14 dated to 2500 years BC); Jean Poirel named it "Valerie Cavern" after his daughter. He took topographic notes and drew detailed maps, paving the way for the park's creation. During his last expedition in 1972, he escorted Pierre Trudeau, who came to evaluate the region.

Park history

Originally established in 1972, by then Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, In August 2007, the federal government added an extra .

In a novel form of cooperation between federal government and native groups, the Naha Dehe Consensus Team was formed in June 2000 by Canada and the Dehcho First Nations. Their original main tasks included:

prepare an Ecological Integrity Statement,
complete a review of the Park Management Plan,
prepare an Interim Park Management Arrangement, and
prepare a Memorandum of Understanding Respecting Park Expansion.

In 2003, these were completed and the purpose of the team changed, now dealing with cooperative management issues, according to the Interim Park Management Arrangement, until the Dehcho Process is completed.

On 9 June 2009 the Government of Canada, with the Dehcho First Nations, announced legislation that will increase the area of Nahanni National Park to cover , including 91% of the Greater Nahanni ecosystem in the Dehcho Region and most of the South Nahanni River watershed.

The new park area is estimated to be the home of around 500 grizzly bears, two herds of woodland caribou, as well as species of alpine sheep and goats and other species. The new boundary will include the highest mountains and largest ice fields in the Northwest Territories. With the expansion of the park there have been several added designated landing sites. Because most access to the park is done by aircraft and air access is restricted in the park, there are set places aircraft can land. Before the expansion these were limited to Virginia Falls and Rabbitkettle Lake. Now there are five more: the Bunny Bar, Island Lake, Honeymoon Lake, Glacier Lake, and Seaplane Lake. However, only Virginia Falls and Glacier Lake are designated for day use visitation, meaning all other sites require visitors to stay overnight in the park.

A visitor centre in Fort Simpson features displays on the history, culture and geography of the area. The park was among the world's first four natural heritage locations to be inscribed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1978.

1987 – The protected portion of the South Nahanni River was designated a Canadian Heritage River, in recognition of its outstanding wilderness character and recreational value.

2007 – The park was voted one of the Seven Wonders of Canada in a national competition sponsored by CBC Television’s The National and CBC Radio One’s Sounds Like Canada.

Film and documentary

1962 – Nahanni, a documentary by the National Film Board of Canada exploring historic perspectives of the South Nahanni River, received international and national recognition following its release.

2011 – The park was featured in The National Parks Project, a short film directed by Kevin McMahon and scored by Shad, Jace Lasek, and Olga Goreas.

2019 – Nahanni: River of Forgiveness, a Canadian documentary centred on a traditional Dene expedition down the Nahanni River, was nominated for Best Cinematography at the Canadian Screen Awards.

Literature and fiction

1937 – The region inspired Sick Heart River, a novel by John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, which features a fictional river set in the Nahanni area.

1973 – The Nahanni River and its surrounding landscape were featured in La Vallée sans homme, a French novel by Roger Frison-Roche.

References

External links

Parks Canada
South Nahanni | Nahʔą Dehé River
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Nahanni campaign
Northwest Territories Tourism- Nahanni National Park Reserve information