home Construction Wood buffalo canada national park on map. Wood Buffalo National Park - A Miracle of Nature

Wood buffalo canada national park on map. Wood Buffalo National Park - A Miracle of Nature

Wood Buffalo is a national park in the provinces of Alberta and the Northwest Territories, Canada. It was founded in 1983. It is Canada's largest national park, covering an area of \u200b\u200b44,807 km 2. Within the park there are wooded plateaus covered with scars of forest fires, a plateau washed out by glaciers, a significant freshwater delta formed by the three largest rivers, salt marshes and the best examples of the karst relief of North America. It also includes the most extensive pristine grass and sedge prairies in North America, creating the best habitat for bison. The park has a long tradition of using natural livelihoods. It was inhabited recently, as soon as the glaciers retreated, by nomadic groups of mikesu - Cree belonging to the first nations, some of which continue to hunt here, set up snares and fish. The climate is characterized by one of the longest and coldest winters and a short, warm summer, water bodies are free from ice only in June, July and August.

The camp has 36 campsite sites. Several of them are located on Pine Lake Lake (60 km from Fort Smith), the most extensive is Kettle Point Group Camp, which is intended for large groups of tourists. This campsite must be reserved in advance. If necessary, arrange night parking in the park, you must obtain permission from the administration of Wood Buffalo.

Wood Buffalo is open to visitors all year round, each season has its own charms. The park has many hiking trails of various lengths and complexity, from very short walking paths to long and difficult ones. Almost any path allows you to see around the indescribable beauty of nature surrounding words. Since wild animals behave very carefully in nature, the probability of encountering them during a walk is very small, but from a distance you can see a lot of interesting things. The park is interesting not only for travelers, but also for serious wildlife researchers. So in the park of Wood Buffalo, in its southern part, the world's longest beaver dam was discovered, its length is about 850 meters (usually 10-100 meters). Many interesting materials on the development of the region and the protection of the wildlife of the region can be seen in the collection of the Fort Smith Museum. In Fort Smith, you can rent a boat or canoe and go through Wood Buffalo along the waterway to Fort Fitzgerald, Fort McMurray, Fort Chipuyani. On large rivers such as Athabasca River, Quattro Forces River, Peace River, Slave River, motor boats are allowed.

A Miracle of Canadian Nature - Wood Buffalo National Park. Read what Wood Buffalo is famous for in today's article.

What is Wood Buffalo famous for?

Canadian Lands National Parkstretching from Albert to the Northwest stretches of Canada, Wood buffalo founded in 1922. Today, Wood Buffalo is the largest park in Canada and one of the largest national parks in the world.

The area of \u200b\u200bWood Buffalo Park in Canada is about 4.4 million hectares.

A visit to Wood Buffalo must be included in the list of “see and die,” as Yellowstone National Park in the USA . Through the expanses of a magnificent, large-scale natural complex, calm, bison of the steppe and forest species walk - the last representatives on the planet. Wood Buffalo is famous as one of the World Heritage Sites, incorporated by UNESCO in 1983.

History of Wood Buffalo National Park

The national park was opened in 1922 to preserve the shaggy buffalo population.. At the time of the creation of the park, there were up to 2500 goals, but by 1960 the population had grown to 10 thousand. After 1983, Wood Buffalo Park lives on from active tourism and patronage programs.

Location

Wood Buffalo stretches across the northwestern part of the country, between the lakes of Athabesca and the Great Slave Lake. The administrative location of the park lies in the vicinity of Alberta and Mackenzie. Basically, the entire area of \u200b\u200bWood Buffalo is forest land, in some places swampy plains, rivers, clear blue lakes and tundra groups of trees.

In the Wood Buffalo Park, the Inland Delta of Athabasca and Peace Rivers formed, which flows into Lake Athabesca - it is one of the largest inland deltas in the world.

You can get to Wood Buffalo from Fort Smith or Fort Chipuyan.. First you need to fly to Edmonton in Canada, then choose to get to the proposed cities. From Fort Smith, you can easily get to the park along the Mackenzie Highway, but for fans of air travel, the road from Fort Chipuyan is better - there is no motorway.

Wood Buffalo Park - This is a huge territory without roads. For hiking and returning to the wild, excursion tours are offered, the conduct of which must be agreed in advance with the management. Each person arriving at the park is registered, then he is offered a route and a guide. Hiking trails are conditional markings. Most territories are inhabited by predators - lynxes and wolves.

What animals can be found:caribou, white-tailed deer, bison, musk rat, bear, moose, porcupine, skunk, crane, lynx, wolf, etc.

Although the opportunity to meet them is minimal, you still need to play it safe. Wood Buffalo - Truly "Lungs of Canada."Huge areas of coniferous forests maintain a cool climate at any time of the year. You can enjoy the echoes of primitive nature at the campsites. Wood Buffalo Park is a great place to visit with family or friends. It works all year round and pleases not with static beauty - each new natural season leaves an indelible impression.

(No ratings yet)

Wood Buffalo (Wood Buffalo National Park) - a national park in the provinces of Alberta and the Northwest Territories, Canada. Founded in 1922, it is the largest national park on the American continent, with a total length of 161 km from east to west and 283 km from north to south.

Administratively, it is located in the Canadian provinces of the Northwest Territories and Alberta, geographically located between Lake Big Slave and Lake Athabasca.

A significant part of the national park is occupied by water bodies - rivers, lakes, swamps. Visiting Wood Buffalo, you can see one of the largest and most beautiful inland deltas created by nature. It is formed by the rivers Peace River and Athabasca, the waters of which flow into Lake Athabasca.
Plains predominate in the park, although closer to the western side, adjacent to the Caribou Mountains, the terrain begins to change. Due to its proximity to the pole, protected lands have another attraction for tourists. In autumn and winter, visitors to the park have a unique opportunity to observe wonderful overflows of light in the sky - the northern lights.

Flora Wood Buffalo is rich and diverse. There are mixed and coniferous forests, shrubs, typical woodland tundra, meadow grasses and flowers, as well as typical grassy vegetation of wild prairies.
All this, combined with local climatic features - long cold winters, which are replaced by warm short summers - creates favorable conditions for the habitat of numerous animals and birds.

Moose, several species of deer (white-tailed and black-tailed deer, caribou reindeer), hares, marmots, musky rats, porcupines, skunks and beavers are permanent residents of the national park.
An interesting fact: on these lands, researchers recorded a beaver dam with a length of 850 m, which is considered a world record (usually the length of such structures does not exceed 100 m). In addition to the mentioned fauna representatives, American black bears and wapiti, wolves and lynxes, as well as over 200 bird species live in the park.
Among birds, pelicans and white American cranes attract special attention, but the nesting sites of the latter are protected by environmentalists and are closed to tourists.

At the same time, as the name implies, the main inhabitants of Wood Buffalo are American bison, for the sake of saving the population of which the park was created. These massive animals are somewhat reminiscent of a European bison, weigh about a ton (900 kg), their body reaches 2 m in height and 3 m in length.
Biologists distinguish between forest and steppe subspecies of bison, both are represented in Wood Buffalo and, in many respects, thanks to the protection of this protected area, still live on our planet.
At the time of the creation of the national park (1922), the number of shaggy forest bison did not exceed one and a half thousand, now the herd reaches 2,500 heads and is recognized as the largest on the continent. The number of steppe bisons is much higher and back in the 1960s it crossed the line of 10 thousand.

The unique nature of Wood Buffalo became the reason for its inclusion in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which happened in 1983 and provoked a pilgrimage of tourists to these parts. Meanwhile, getting to the national park is not so easy.
First you need to make a flight to the city of Edmonton (Canada), and then by car or charter flight to get (your choice) either to the city of Fort Smith (Northwest Territory province) or to the village of Fort Chipuyan (Alberta) open access to protected lands.
Fort Smith, where the Wood Buffalo Park Administration is located, can be reached via the Mackenzie Highway, while Fort Chipuyan, where the main office is located, does not have a convenient road, only air.

Bison - Woodland Buffalo National Park

When planning a tourist trip, you need to consider that there are practically no roads in Wood Buffalo. Only one car route has been created for excursions by the national park, while there are a huge number of rules for moving by car, the violation of which is punishable by impressive fines. As compensation, there are many walking routes for every taste.
If desired, you can use short walking paths or choose complex and long hiking trails that require some experience with such trips. The risk of a close encounter with predators (lynxes, wolves) is minimal - they are cautious in nature and avoid human society.

In Canada, tourists are allowed water trips along large rivers. If you rent a transport (canoe or regular boat) to Fort Smith, you can go sailing to Fort Chipuyan, Fort Fitzgerald or Fort McMurray and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Wood Buffalo from an unusual angle.

Those wishing to explore natural attractions for several days have the opportunity to stay in cities adjacent to the national park - Fort Smith, Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Simpson.
Locals will be happy to rent a house or room, hotel rooms and camping sites are also available. The latter are at the disposal of the Wood-Buffalo administration, which issues a parking permit.

We will get acquainted with the natural features of one of the reserves of Canada. We will learn how ecological tourism is developing in the Wood Buffalo National Park.

In the two largest provinces of Canada, Alberta and the Northwest Territories houses the scenic Wood Buffalo Nature Reserve. It is located between two lakes Big Nevolnichye and Athabasca, covering an area of \u200b\u200b44 thousand square kilometers. The park is protected by the state and UNESCO, so any violations here are punishable by law.

Wood Buffalo - Natural Features

Wood Buffalo has a rather cold climate, so there are more travelers here in spring and summer. But this period lasts only a few months, although in other seasons the national park is striking in its beauty and charm.

Wood Buffalo Park Territory

Eagle Owl - Another Wood Buffalo Inhabitant

The entire territory of the Wood Buffalo Reserve is covered with coniferous and mixed forests, meadows, plains, tundra. Lakes and rivers flow through the area, the largest of which are Athabasca and the Peace River. Together they form a rather large delta, which is located near Lake Athabasca. Through the park, unlike, not a single road passes. Therefore, favorable conditions were created for the breeding of bison. For the sake of preserving their population, a park was built. Now the number of individuals reaches 2.5 thousand.

Reindeers, caribou, beavers, pelicans, a species of American cranes are found in forests and plains.

Ecotourism in Wood Buffalo

Despite the cool climate, tourists come to Wood Buffalo throughout the year. There are many paths that differ in the length and complexity of the passages. Usually it is convenient and short trails, as well as difficult and multi-day routes. Each of the trails passes through pristine nature, allowing you to see rare species of animals, enjoy panoramic views. But routes bypass bird nesting sites so as not to interfere with their development and increase population.

In the campsites of the reserve come to relax families

In addition to hiking, travelers have the opportunity to go boating and canoeing. Typically, water routes pass along such rivers as Atabska, Quatre Forces, Peace River, Slave. On them you can swim to the settlements located on the shores of the straits - Fort Chipuyani, Fort McMurray, Fort Fitzgerald.

One of the most visited places is the beaver dam, located in the south of the park. Scientists have been studying this structure for many years, since the length of such crossings is only 10 to 100 meters.

Wood Buffalo is a national park in the provinces of Alberta and the Northwest Territories, Canada. It was founded in 1983. It is Canada's largest national park, covering an area of \u200b\u200b44,807 km2. Within the park there are wooded plateaus covered with scars of forest fires, a plateau washed out by glaciers, a significant freshwater delta formed by the three largest rivers, salt marshes and the best examples of the karst relief of North America. It also includes the most extensive pristine grass and sedge prairies in North America, creating the best habitat for bison. The park has a long tradition of using natural livelihoods. It was inhabited recently, as soon as the glaciers retreated, by nomadic groups of mikesu - Cree belonging to the first nations, some of which continue to hunt here, set up snares and fish. The climate is characterized by one of the longest and coldest winters and a short, warm summer, water bodies are free from ice only in June, July and August.

Among the 47 species of mammals living here are the Canadian caribou deer, arctic fox, American black bear, elk, beaver and muskrat, and 227 bird species, including falcon, bald eagle, owl and polar owl, are registered. The reserve is also known for having the largest continent on its territory.
a wild herd of American bison (about 2500 goals). The number of the crane is approximately 140 individuals, of which 40 are breeding pairs. This is an amazingly beautiful bird, snow-white, 1.5 m in height, wingspan - 2.6 m. Twice a year, these fabulous birds overcome a path full of dangers 4,300 km to the winter apartments in Texas. As early as 1941, only 15 individuals remained with American cranes. The camp has 36 campsite sites. Several of them are located on Pine Lake Lake (60 km from Fort Smith), the most extensive is Kettle Point Group Camp, which is intended for large groups of tourists. This campsite must be reserved in advance. If necessary, arrange night parking in the park, you must obtain permission from the administration of Wood Buffalo.
Wood Buffalo is open to visitors all year round, each season has its own charms. The park has many hiking trails of various lengths and complexity, from very short walking paths to long and difficult ones.
Almost any path allows you to see around the indescribable beauty of nature surrounding words. Since wild animals behave very carefully in nature, the probability of encountering them during a walk is very small, but from a distance you can see a lot of interesting things. The park is interesting not only for travelers, but also for serious wildlife researchers. So in the park of Wood Buffalo, in its southern part, the world's longest beaver dam was discovered, its length is about 850 meters (usually 10-100 meters). Many interesting materials on the development of the region and the protection of the wildlife of the region can be seen in the collection of the Fort Smith Museum. In Fort Smith, you can rent a boat or canoe and go through Wood Buffalo along the waterway to Fort Fitzgerald, Fort McMurray, Fort Chipuyani. On large rivers such as Athabasca River, Quattro Forces River, Peace River, Slave River, motor boats are allowed.

Information

A country: Canada

Source. planetofdream.com