Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, spanning 10,878 km² (4200 mi²). It is located in the province of Alberta, to the north of Banff National Park and west of the city of Edmonton. The park includes the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield, hot springs, lakes, waterfalls and, of course, mountains. Wildlife in the park includes elk, caribou, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, grizzly bear, black bear, beaver, Rocky Mountain pika, hoary marmot, gray wolf, mountain lion, and wolverine.
Jasper was named after Jasper Hawes, who operated a trading post in the region for the North West Company. Before this it was referred to as Fitzhugh. The park was established on September 14, 1907 as Jasper Forest Park, and was granted national park status in 1930, with the passing of the National Parks Act.
In 2006, Jasper National Park had 1,988,600 visitors.
This park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, together with the other national and provincial parks that form the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, for the mountain landscapes containing mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons and limestone caves as well as fossils found here.
Major river systems originating in the park include the North Saskatchewan River (part of the Hudson Bay basin), the Athabasca River and Smoky River (part of the Arctic Ocean basin).
Some of the park's scenic attractions include Mount Edith Cavell, Pyramid Lake with Pyramid Mountain, Maligne Lake, Medicine Lake, and the Tonquin Valley. Other attractions are the Marmot Basin ski area, the Snocoach (bus-sized snowmobile) tours of the Athabasca Glacier, a distributary of the Columbia Icefield, Athabasca Falls, Maligne Lake, Whistler Sky-Tram the Jasper Tramway, and numerous other outdoor related recreational activities (such as hiking, fishing, wildlife viewing, rafting, kayaking and camping). The Miette Hotsprings are located close to the northeast entrance. The Miette Hotsprings are created by an extremely hot spring cooled by the mountain to temperatures suitable for humans.
The Icefields Parkway is a highway 230 km (143 miles) in length from Lake Louise, Alberta in Banff National Park, to Jasper, Alberta. The highway parallels the continental divide, providing motor and cycle access to the mountains. The Athabasca and Snwapta Falls are both accessible by the road. An aerial view of the one of the falls can be seen here.
