Mount Revelstoke National Park

Mount Revelstoke National Park is located adjacent to the city of Revelstoke, British Columbia in Canada. The park is relatively small for a national park covering 260 square kilometres. It is located in the Columbia Mountains and was founded in 1914. Approximately a half-million visitors enter the park each year.

Climate

The park contains part of the world's only temperate inland rainforest. Steep, rugged mountains can be found, in a warm, moist climate. A variety of plant and animal life is typical with stands of old-growth Western Redcedar and Western Hemlock, a forest type which is rapidly declining outside of protected areas.

The park also protects a small herd of the threatened mountain caribou and provides habitat for grizzly bear and mountain goat. The park is much different from the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Coast Mountains to the west.

Tourism

The park is famous for summer wildflower displays. Each year the meadows of the upper subalpine zone blossom into brilliant colour by the middle of August. It was the beauty of these meadows, so near to their town, that inspired a group of people in Revelstoke to lobby for the creation of the national park in 1914.

At the same time, skiing was booming as a popular activity. Mount Revelstoke's ski jump was one of the first in Canada and was internationally renowned as one of the finest natural jumps in the world. Several world ski jumping records were set here.

External Links

Parks Canada - Mount Revelstoke National Park