Jasper
- Maximus Nostramabus
- Nov 3, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: 9 hours ago
Largest icefield in North America - Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks 304
What and Why
The largest of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, Jasper National Park is famous for its spectacular ice fields scattered around spectacularly scenic mountains, gorges, waterfalls and lakes. Jasper’s landscapes emphasise scale and remoteness. Massive mountain ranges, extensive forests, and large river systems create habitats for wildlife and opportunities for outdoor exploration. The park is also renowned for being home to large varieties of wildlife, including elk, caribou, moose, lynx, beaver, marten, grizzly bear, coyote and wolverine.
Established in 1907, Jasper National Park is larger and less crowded than Banff. It covers more than 11,000 km² and offers vast wilderness areas with relatively low levels of development.
Incidentally Jasper National Park is designated as one of the world’s largest Dark Sky Preserves, meaning that artificial light pollution is carefully managed to protect natural night skies. The annual Jasper Dark Sky Festival attracts astronomers, photographers, and visitors interested in observing stars, planets, and the aurora. This designation reflects a growing recognition that night skies themselves are part of natural heritage worthy of protection.
Toponymy
Jasper was named after Jasper Hawes, who operated a fur trading post in the region.
See
Jasper National Park is just north of the Banff National Park, and is connecteid through the same main trunk road, known as the Icefields Parkway, end to end. We shall go from south to north following this road, following the earlier blog on Banff. This 230-km stretch of the road is often described as one of the most spectacular scenic drives in the world.
Columbia Icefield
The Columbia Icefield is the largest ice field in North America's Rocky Mountains, which is more than 325 km² in area. The Columbia Icefields has several glaciers, but the main one, Athabasca Glacier, as the main picture above, is easily accessible and most visible from the highway and visitor centre. One can access to the tip of the glacier after a strenuous walk as above where there is a parking lot.
Glaciers form where snow accumulation exceeds melting over long periods of time. In the high elevations of the Canadian Rockies, winter snowfall is heavy and temperatures remain low enough that much of the snow survives the summer melt. Over decades and centuries, layers of snow compress under their own weight. The key condition for glacier formation is clearly a positive mass balance, meaning annual snowfall exceeds the combined losses from melting, sublimation, and ice breakage.
In this particular region, this process primarily occurs above the snow line, typically between 2,200 and 2,800 m depending on local climate and slope orientation.
This icefield also marks a rare hydrological phenomenon: meltwater from the glacier flows into three different drainage basins, called a triple divide, that ultimately reach the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean.
Apparently the signage in the visitor centre says that the area receives more than 10 m of snow every year, until recently when climate change strikes when substantial recession of the glacier is observed. As an atmospheric scientist, I have a natural interest in the regional icefield. We were told that since the late 19th century, many glaciers in Banff and Jasper have lost over 50% of their volume, while the nearby Athabasca Glacier has retreated more than 1.5 kim. Ice thickness in some areas has decreased by tens of metres. This retreat affects not only landscape aesthetics but also water availability, ecosystems, and long-term environmental stability. Recall our blog in El Calafate.
There are several guided tours that will bring one to the centre of the glacier with snowcoaches, but it does cost a whopping bomb at almost CAD $100 per person for a two-hour journey, although you do step in the smack of the glacier!
The ice field is also located along the Continental Divide of the Americas: we have been to one in Yellowstone - Southern loop.
Apparently there is a cliff-edge glass-walkway somewhere now. I have to confess that I have no interest for artificiality in this beautiful natural scenery.
Athabasca Falls
Famous not for its height, but rather the sheer roaring volume of water flowing down, Athabasca Falls can be accessed easily around with many well-managed walkways. The waters obviously come the similarly named Athabasca Glacier.
Maligne Canyon and Lake
Similar to the lakes in the Banff National Park, Maligne Lake is one of the most celebrated natural features of the park for its bluish water and is one of the best photospots of the park. The name of the lake and the river refers to the wickedness and danger of the water currents along the waterfalls and rivers. The lake stretches over 22 km in length and is surrounded by glaciers and snow-capped peaks.
At the southern end of the lake lies Spirit Island, a small forested island that has become one of the most photographed locations in the Canadian Rockies. The island holds cultural significance for Indigenous communities and symbolises the spiritual connection between people and the landscape.
The Maligne River that feeds into the lake cuts through the rock formations and forms an exciting canyon-walk with spectacular blue waterfalls. We went during summer but apparently these waterfalls freeze and render the canyon white-walled, which becomes a stunning scenery.
Medicine Lake
Along the river one will also reach the Medicine Lake, which strictly speaking is not a lake but a watershed, where the water suddenly goes underground and disappears as a losing stream.
Jasper
Jasper is a small town, similar to Banff with an Alpine feel and serves as the primary settlement within the park. Unlike Banff, Jasper maintains a smaller population and quieter atmosphere. Its development historically centred around railway operations and forestry rather than luxury tourism. No disrespect, not worth a long visit.
Travel Suggestions and Logistics
As mentioned above, the Icefields Parkway is a very scenic drive and is an absolute joy to drive along. You will be cutting through mountains, lakes, glaciers, canyons, you name it. Again similar to Banff, the Icelfields Parkway is the only main thoroughfare trunk road across the entire park.
Along this highway and together with the stretch along the Banff National Park, there are flyovers, not for humans, but for the wild animals to cross from one side to the other. Wildlife viewing opportunities are common along park roads and hiking trails. The park also serves as important research sites for scientists studying ecosystems, climate change, and wildlife conservation.
There are loads of reports about sightings of wolves, bears, deers, you name it, around Jasper. Jasper can be explored in two days with a brief visit and is just an hour away from Banff. With the ticket from Banff National Park, entry to Jasper National Park is free, otherwise it is $10 per person.
UNESCO Inscription
The contiguous national parks of Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho, as well as the Mount Robson, Mount Assiniboine and Hamber provincial parks, studded with mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons and limestone caves, form a striking mountain landscape. The Burgess Shale fossil site, well known for its fossil remains of soft-bodied marine animals, is also found there.
References
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Please share your thoughts and comments about the blog. If you need suggestions to build a travel itinerary, please let me know. More than willing to help. I would also like to build a bespoke-in-depth travel community around UNESCO WHS and ICH.
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