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Not to be confused with Bow Valley Provincial Park or Bow Valley Provincial Recreation Area.

Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location in Alberta Location in Canada Location in Kananaskis
Location	Municipal District of Ranchland, Alberta, Canada
Nearest city	Canmore, Alberta
Coordinates	51°00′00″N 115°15′00″W
Area	37,508 ha (144.82 sq mi)
Established	9 December 1998
Governing body	Alberta Parks

Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park is a wildland provincial park in southern Alberta, Canada. It was established on 9 December 1998, and is 37,508 hectares (92,684.29 acres; 144.82 sq mi) in area. The park is included in the South Saskatchewan Region Land Use Framework and administered by the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan. Because they are environmentally intertwined, Bow Valley Wildland Park, Bow Valley Provincial Park, and Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park are managed through the same management plan. The park gets its name from the Bow River and Valley that the park is within.

Location

The park is made up of several discontinuous fragments surrounding the townsite of Canmore and along the Bow River and the Trans-Canada Highway (Alberta Highway 1). It is 85 km (53 mi) west of Calgary and about 25 km (16 mi) east of Banff. The park is partially in the Municipal District of Bighorn and partially in the Kananaskis Improvement District. The park is roughly triangular and is largely surrounded by other environmentally protected areas. To the west is Spray Valley Provincial Park and the Spray Lakes Reservoir. On the northwest corner is Banff National Park. On the north is Banff National Park and Don Getty Wildland Provincial Park. On the southeast boundary are Spray Valley Wildland and Bow Valley Provincial Parks separated by Evan-Thomas Provincial Recreation Area – home of Kananaskis Village. The northeast corner is bounded by Bow Valley Provincial Park and the Stoney 142, 143, 144 reserves of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation. Bow Valley Provincial Park, Canmore Nordic Centre, and several other parcels of provincially protected land create a continuous environmentally protected area with Bow Valley Wildland.

Ecology

The park contains the Alpine, Sub-Alpine and Montane subregions of the Rocky Mountain Natural Region in the Alberta classification system. In the National Ecological Framework for Canada used by Environment and Climate Change Canada, the park is in the Morely Foothills and Crowsnest Mountains ecodistricts of the Northern Continental Divide ecoregion and also the Banff Mountains ecodistrict, Eastern Continental Ranges ecoregion all in the Columbia Montane Cordillera ecoprovince of the Montane Cordillera ecozone. Under the OneEarth classification (previously World Wildlife Fund), the park is in the Northern Rockies conifer forests ecoregion of the Greater Rockies & Mountain Forests bioregion.

Geography

The geography of the park is a diverse mountain landscape. There are mountains and valleys with headwaters of mountain streams. There is also the wide flood plane of the Bow River Valley. The mountains contain sheer limestone cliffs and slopes of shale. There are many good examples of folding and faulting that are visible from the Bow Valley. In addition, the McConnell Thrust Fault is an accessible example of fractures. Further geological examples include talus slopes in various states of stability and glacial landforms such as kames, eskers, kettles, moraines, and terraces.

The park elevation ranges from 1,300 m (4,300 ft) on the Bow River to 3,121 m (10,240 ft) at the peak of Mount Sparrowhawk. The park includes some other prominent, named mountains.

Select Mountains in Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park:

• Mount Allan; 2,789 m (9,150 ft)
• Mount Charles Stewart; 2,809 m (9,216 ft)
• Grotto Mountain; 2,706 m (8,878 ft)
• Ha Ling Peak; 2,474 m (8,117 ft)
• Heart Mountain; 2,042 m (6,699 ft)
• Mount John Laurie; 2,240 m (7,350 ft)
• Mount Lawrence Grassi; 2,682 m (8,799 ft)
• Loder Peak; 2,088 m (6,850 ft)
• Mount Lougheed; 3,107 m (10,194 ft)
• Mount Lady MacDonald; 2,606 m (8,550 ft)
• Pigeon Mountain; 2,394 m (7,854 ft)
• Mount Rundle; 2,948 m (9,672 ft)
• The Three Sisters
  • Big Sister; 2,936 m (9,633 ft)
  • Middle Sister; 2,769 m (9,085 ft)
  • Little Sister; 2,694 m (8,839 ft)
• Windtower; 2,688 m (8,819 ft)

Climate

The Köppen climate classification of the park is Continental, Subarctic (Dfc) characterized by long, cold, dry winters, and short, cool, moist summers. Using the data from nearby weather station, Bow Valley, for 1991 to 2020, the average daily temperatures exceeds 10 °C (50 °F) only for June, July and August while average daily temperatures are less than 0 °C (32 °F) for November through March. At Bow Valley station, the long-run average precipitation from 1991 to 2020 starts the year at less than 20 mm (0.79 in) per month and climbs each month to peak in June at 120 mm (4.7 in) per month. The precipitation then drops to less than 20 mm (0.79 in) per month by December.

Climate varies with altitude, topography, and the frequency of exposure to warm Chinook winds. Higher elevations, above the tree line, experience an alpine climate where the average temperature for any month doesn't exceed 10 °C (50 °F). This region falls under a Köppen classification of Tundra climate (ET). The highest elevations will be under a permanent snow or ice cap where the average temperature for any month never exceeds 0 °C (32 °F). This ice cap climate corresponds to a Köppen classification of Polar climate (EF).

Vegetation

The Montane Natural Subregion is found primarily at lower elevations in the park. The subregion typically has open grasslands mixed wood (coniferous/deciduous) forests, contiguous coniferous forests, and Riparian zones along waterways in the valleys. Dominant tree species include alpine fir, Englemann spruce, lodgepole pine, trembling aspen, and white spruce. Balsam poplar and Douglas fir can also be found. Common shrubs include buffalo berry and several species of willow.

The Subalpine subregion is found at higher elevations. This subregion characteristically has contiguous coniferous stands and open coniferous/shrub mixed forests. Canopy species include alpine fir, Englemann spruce, lodgepole pine, and white spruce. Alpine larch is also found at higher elevations.

The Alpine Subregion is located above approximately 2,100 m (6,900 ft). The subregion is sparsely vegetated with grassland and forb meadows. Conifers showing krumholtz deformation and lichens are found in rock dominated terrain. Common tree species found here include and alpine fir and alpine larch.

The Bow River flats portion of the park contains several distinct vegetation areas with most being affected by the hydrology of the site. The dominant vegetation cover is a mature white spruce forest occurring on wet to extremely dry, silty to sandy alluvium. The understory of the forest is usually either bearberry/wolf willow/rose, Rye-grass/sedge, or a willow/sedge composition, depending on hydrology.

The active floodplain has a moist to wet moisture regime and supports a variety of willow, wolf willow, and graminoid meadows. In lesser amounts, Balsam Poplar or poplar-aspen-white spruce forests are present. Sedge and brown moss meadows and willow thickets are common.

Several rare plant species have been identified in the park. Most of the plant sightings occur south of the Trans-Canada Highway between Wind valley and Bow Valley Provincial Park. The Yamnuska area has a high diversity of vascular plants with over 362 species being recorded including nine rare and eleven uncommon species.

Wildlife

The park contains an important wildlife corridor between Banff National Park and Kananaskis Country and areas south. One of the primary objectives of this management plan is to maintain these corridors for large carnivores such as black and grizzly bears, cougar, and wolves. Other carnivores in the park include coyotes and lynx. The park features slopes, vegetation cover, and predictable chinook winds which provide excellent winter range for large ungulate species such as elk, bighorn sheep, and deer. Elk are a significant ungulate species in the Bow Valley.

Normally, visitors to Wildland Provincial Parks have uncontrolled access to the entire park by foot. Bow Valley Wildland has instituted zones which seasonally control access to the park. For example, there are two large areas, deemed wildlife corridors, which prohibit human access from 1 December to 15 June of each year. Other zones protect elk movement and wintering areas.

The main fisheries habitat in the park is the Bow River and its tributaries. Brown trout, Rocky Mountain whitefish and other species spawn and grow in these waters. Bill Griffiths Creek is an important spawning area for brown trout and has the largest known concentration of spawning brown trout in western Canada.

Activities

Backcountry hiking and camping are permitted in the park. In addition, hunting and fishing are allowed when properly licensed. The park has extensive trails for horse back trail riding. Geocaching and rock climbing are also available.

See also

• List of provincial parks in Alberta
• List of Canadian provincial parks
• Ecology of the Rocky Mountains

External links

• Wildland Provincial Parks on YouTube