1.
International Union for Conservation of Nature
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The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, lobbying. IUCNs mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of resources is equitable. Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to equality, poverty alleviation. Unlike other international NGOs, IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation and it tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice, and through lobbying and partnerships. The organization is best known to the public for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List. IUCN has a membership of over 1200 governmental and non-governmental organizations, some 11,000 scientists and experts participate in the work of IUCN commissions on a voluntary basis. It employs approximately 1000 full-time staff in more than 60 countries and its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland. IUCN has observer and consultative status at the United Nations, and plays a role in the implementation of several conventions on nature conservation. It was involved in establishing the World Wide Fund for Nature, in the past, IUCN has been criticized for placing the interests of nature over those of indigenous peoples. In recent years, its relations with the business sector have caused controversy. It was previously called the International Union for Protection of Nature, establishment In 1947, the Swiss League for the Protection of Nature organised an international conference on the protection of nature in Brunnen. It is considered to be the first government-organized non-governmental organization, the initiative to set up the new organisation came from UNESCO and especially from its first Director General, the British biologist Julian Huxley. At the time of its founding IUPN was the international organisation focusing on the entire spectrum of nature conservation Early years. Its secretariat was located in Brussels and its first work program focused on saving species and habitats, increasing and applying knowledge, advancing education, promoting international agreements and promoting conservation. Providing a solid base for conservation action was the heart of all activities. IUPN and UNESCO were closely associated and they jointly organized the 1949 Conference on Protection of Nature. In preparation for this conference a list of endangered species was drawn up for the first time
2.
National park
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A national park is a park in use for conservation purposes. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns, although individual nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea, the conservation of wild nature for posterity and as a symbol of national pride. An international organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, although Yellowstone was not officially termed a national park in its establishing law, it was always termed such in practice and is widely held to be the first and oldest national park in the world. The first area to use national park in its legislation was the USs Mackinac Island. Australias Royal National Park, established in 1879, was the third official national park. In 1895 ownership of Mackinac Island was transferred to the State of Michigan as a state park, as a result, Australias Royal National Park is by some considerations the second oldest national park now in existence. The largest national park in the meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast Greenland National Park. According to the IUCN,6,555 national parks worldwide met its criteria in 2006, IUCN is still discussing the parameters of defining a national park. National parks are almost always open to visitors, in 1971, these criteria were further expanded upon leading to more clear and defined benchmarks to evaluate a national park. In 1810, the English poet William Wordsworth described the Lake District as a sort of property, in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive. It was known as Hot Springs Reservation, but no authority was established. Federal control of the area was not clearly established until 1877, John Muir is today referred to as the Father of the National Parks due to his work in Yosemite. He published two articles in The Century Magazine, which formed the base for the subsequent legislation. President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress on July 1,1864, ceding the Yosemite Valley, according to this bill, private ownership of the land in this area was no longer possible. The state of California was designated to manage the park for use, resort. Leases were permitted for up to ten years and the proceeds were to be used for conservation, a public discussion followed this first legislation of its kind and there was a heated debate over whether the government had the right to create parks. The perceived mismanagement of Yosemite by the Californian state was the reason why Yellowstone at its establishment six years later was put under national control, in 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the United States first national park, being also the worlds first national park. In some European countries, however, national protection and nature reserves already existed, such as Drachenfels, Yellowstone was part of a federally governed territory
3.
Train
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A train is a form of rail transport consisting of a series of vehicles that usually runs along a rail track to transport cargo or passengers. Motive power is provided by a locomotive or individual motors in self-propelled multiple units. Although historically steam propulsion dominated, the most common forms are diesel and electric locomotives. Other energy sources include horses, engine or water-driven rope or wire winch, gravity, pneumatics, batteries, the word train comes from the Old French trahiner, from the Latin trahere pull, draw. There are various types of trains that are designed for particular purposes, a train may consist of a combination of one or more locomotives and attached railroad cars, or a self-propelled multiple unit. The first trains were rope-hauled, gravity powered or pulled by horses, from the early 19th century almost all were powered by steam locomotives. A passenger train is one which includes passenger-carrying vehicles which can often be very long, one notable and growing long-distance train category is high-speed rail. In order to much faster operation over 500 km/h, innovative Maglev technology has been researched for years. In most countries, such as the United Kingdom, the distinction between a tramway and a railway is precise and defined in law, a freight train uses freight cars to transport goods or materials. Freight and passengers may be carried in the train in a mixed consist. Rail cars and machinery used for maintenance and repair of tracks, etc. are termed maintenance of way equipment, similarly, dedicated trains may be used to provide support services to stations along a train line, such as garbage or revenue collection. There are various types of trains that are designed for particular purposes, a train can consist of a combination of one or more locomotives and attached railroad cars, or a self-propelled multiple unit. Trains can also be hauled by horses, pulled by a cable, special kinds of trains running on corresponding special railways are atmospheric railways, monorails, high-speed railways, maglev, rubber-tired underground, funicular and cog railways. A passenger train may consist of one or several locomotives and coaches, alternatively, a train may consist entirely of passenger carrying coaches, some or all of which are powered as a multiple unit. In many parts of the world, particularly the Far East and Europe, freight trains are composed of wagons or trucks rather than carriages, though some parcel and mail trains are outwardly more like passenger trains. Trains can also be mixed, comprising both passenger accommodation and freight vehicles, special trains are also used for track maintenance, in some places, this is called maintenance of way. A train with a locomotive attached at each end is described as top and tailed, where a second locomotive is attached temporarily to assist a train up steep banks or grades it is referred to as banking in the UK, or helper service in North America. Recently, many loaded trains in the United States have been made up one or more locomotives in the middle or at the rear of the train
4.
Elk
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The elk, or wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, in the world, and one of the largest land mammals in North America and Eastern Asia. This animal should not be confused with the still larger moose to which the name elk applies in British English, apart from the moose, the only other member of the deer family to rival the elk in size is the south Asian sambar. Elk range in forest and forest-edge habitat, feeding on grasses, plants, leaves, male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. Although they are native to North America and eastern Asia, they have adapted well to countries in which they have introduced, including Argentina. Their great adaptability may threaten endemic species and ecosystems into which they have been introduced, Elk are susceptible to a number of infectious diseases, some of which can be transmitted to livestock. Efforts to eliminate infectious diseases from elk populations, largely by vaccination, have had mixed success, some cultures revere the elk as a spiritual force. In parts of Asia, antlers and their velvet are used in traditional medicines, Elk are hunted as a game species. The meat is leaner and higher in protein than beef or chicken and it was long believed to be a subspecies of the European red deer, but evidence from a number of mitochondrial DNA genetic studies beginning in 1998 show that the two are distinct species. Key morphological differences that distinguish C. canadensis from C. elaphus are the formers wider rump patch and paler-hued antlers. The word elk is related to the Latin alces, Old Norse elgr, Scandinavian elg/älg and German Elch, the name wapiti is from the Shawnee and Cree word waapiti, meaning white rump. This name is used in particular for the Asian subspecies, because in Eurasia the name elk continues to be used for the moose, Asian subspecies are sometimes referred to as the maral, but this name applies primarily to the Caspian red deer, a subspecies of red deer. There is a subspecies of elk in Mongolia called the Altai wapiti, members of the genus Cervus first appear in the fossil record 25 million years ago, during the Oligocene in Eurasia, but do not appear in the North American fossil record until the early Miocene. The extinct Irish elk was not a member of the genus Cervus, until recently, red deer and elk were considered to be one species, Cervus elaphus. However, the two species have freely inter-bred in New Zealands Fiordland National Park, where the animals have all. There are numerous subspecies of elk described, with six from North America and four from Asia, populations vary as to antler shape and size, body size, coloration and mating behavior. DNA investigations of the Eurasian subspecies revealed that phenotypic variation in antlers, mane, of the six subspecies of elk known to have inhabited North America in historical times, four remain, including the Roosevelt, tule, Manitoban and Rocky Mountain. The eastern elk and Merriams elk subspecies have been extinct for at least a century, four subspecies described in Asia include the Altai wapiti and the Tianshan wapiti. Two distinct subspecies found in China and Korea are the Manchurian wapiti, the Manchurian wapiti is darker and more reddish in coloration than the other populations
5.
Alberta
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Alberta is a western province of Canada. With an estimated population of 4,196,457 as of July 1,2015, it is Canadas fourth-most populous province and its area is about 660,000 square kilometres. Alberta and its neighbour Saskatchewan were districts of the Northwest Territories until they were established as provinces on September 1,1905, the premier has been Rachel Notley since May 2015. Alberta is bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U. S. state of Montana to the south. Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to only a single U. S. state and one of only two landlocked provinces. About 290 km south of the capital is Calgary, the largest city in Alberta, Calgary and Edmonton centre Albertas two census metropolitan areas, both of which have populations exceeding one million, while the province has 16 census agglomerations. Tourist destinations in the province include Banff, Canmore, Drumheller, Jasper, Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Victoria, Queen of Canada, and Albert, Prince Consort. Princess Louise was the wife of John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, Lake Louise and Mount Alberta were also named in her honour. Alberta, with an area of 661,848 km2, is the fourth largest province after Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. To the south, the borders on the 49th parallel north, separating it from the US state of Montana. The province extends 1,223 km north to south and 660 km east to west at its maximum width, with the exception of the semi-arid steppe of the south-eastern section, the province has adequate water resources. There are numerous rivers and lakes used for swimming, fishing, there are three large lakes, Lake Claire in Wood Buffalo National Park, Lesser Slave Lake, and Lake Athabasca which lies in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. The longest river in the province is the Athabasca River which travels 1,538 km from the Columbia Icefield in the Rocky Mountains to Lake Athabasca, the largest river is the Peace River with an average flow of 2161 m3/s. The Peace River originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows through northern Alberta and into the Slave River, Albertas capital city, Edmonton, is located approximately in the geographic centre of the province. It is the most northerly city in Canada, and serves as a gateway. The region, with its proximity to Canadas largest oil fields, has most of western Canadas oil refinery capacity, Calgary is located approximately 280 km south of Edmonton and 240 km north of Montana, surrounded by extensive ranching country. Almost 75% of the population lives in the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The land grant policy to the served as a means to populate the province in its early years
6.
Hinton, Alberta
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Hinton is a town in west-central Alberta, Canada. The Town of Hinton was named for William P. Hinton, Vice President, the community was named in 1911 and remained a hamlet for the next 45 years. Settlement in the area was scattered along a line some twelve kilometres in length, a site along Hardisty Creek, is where an aboriginal group from the Jasper area had left members stricken with smallpox while the rest of the group travelled to Lac Ste. Anne to find medical aid for the epidemic which was ravaging the indigenous population in Alberta. The area was thus dubbed Cache Picote in 1870, in 1888 Jack Gregg established a trading post at Prairie Creek to serve travellers along the Jasper trail. The creek is now known as Muskuta Creek after an interpretation of the Cree name by white settlers. The construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway saw the establishment of a camp at the mouth of Prairie Creek in 1908. A trestle was built over the creek and is still in use by CN today, in 1911 the Grand Trunk Pacific built a station house at mile 978 west of Winnipeg. The station was named Hinton, and the community was born, the Canadian Northern Railway also established a station called Bliss in 1914. The Canadian Northern Railway ran north of the Grand Trunk Pacific line, in 1916 when the Grand Trunk Pacific rail line was temporarily closed, Dalehurst became the postal station for Hinton. Entrance, another important centre to Hinton, served as its communications centre, the original site of Entrance is now known as Old Entrance. The Canadian National Railway became the owner of rail lines, the Canadian Northern and the Grand Trunk pacific and various portions of both lines were used by the new mother company. The company, however, abandoned the use of the line through Bliss in 1926. The population of Hinton experienced a boom during the 1930s when American entrepreneur Frank Seabolt, shortly thereafter, a recession caused the population to dwindle to fewer than 100 people, but the town began to rebound in 1955 with the construction of a pulp mill. The mill brought rapid growth to Hinton and a new village was developed and was named the Village of Drinnan in 1956, the two communities amalgamated on April 1,1957, to form the present Town of Hinton. In 1986,23 people were killed in the Hinton train collision, with a land area of 33.52 km2, it had a population density of 294. 8/km2 in 2016. In the 2011 Census, the Town of Hinton had a population of 9,640 living in 3,781 of its 4,143 total dwellings, with a land area of 33.77 km2, it had a population density of 285. 5/km2 in 2011. The population of the Town of Hinton according to its 2009 municipal census is 9,825, the census originally counted 9,812 people within the town limits but an additional 13 were added when a long-standing annexation application was approved shortly after the census was conducted
7.
Canadian Rockies
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The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. They are the part of the Canadian Cordillera, which is a system of multiple ranges of mountains which runs from the Canadian Prairies to the Pacific Coast. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA, in geographic terms the boundary is at the Canada/US border, but in geological terms it might be considered to be at Marias Pass in northern Montana. The northern end is at the Liard River in northern British Columbia, the Canadian Rockies have numerous high peaks and ranges, such as Mount Robson and Mount Columbia. The Canadian Rockies are composed of shale and limestone, much of the range is protected by national and provincial parks, several of which collectively comprise a World Heritage Site. The Canadian Rockies are the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera and they form part of the American Cordillera, an essentially continuous sequence of mountain ranges that runs all the way from Alaska to the very tip of South America. The Cordillera in turn are the part of the Pacific Ring of Fire that runs all the way around the Pacific Ocean. The Canadian Rockies are bounded on the east by the Canadian Prairies, on the west by the Rocky Mountain Trench, contrary to popular misconception, the Rockies do not extend north into Yukon or Alaska, or west into central British Columbia. North of the Liard River, the Mackenzie Mountains, which are a mountain range. The mountain ranges to the west of the Rocky Mountain Trench in southern British Columbia are called the Columbia Mountains, and are not considered to be part of the Rockies by Canadian geologists. Mount Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, but not the highest in British Columbia, since there are higher mountains in the Coast Mountains. Its base is only 985 m above sea level, meaning it has a vertical relief of 2,969 m or nearly 10,000 feet. In addition, it rises the 3 km to its summit in a distance of only 4 km from its base at Kinney Lake, climbing Mount Robson is a challenge suitable for experienced and well-prepared mountaineers, and usually requires a week on the mountain. Mount Columbia is the second-highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, and is the highest mountain in Alberta, there is a non-technical route to the top involving only kicking steps in the snow, but the approach is across the Columbia Icefield and requires glacier travel and crevasse rescue knowledge. It is normally done in two days, with a night at camp, but some strong skiers have done it from the highway in a day. On the other hand, many others have been stuck in their tents for days waiting for the weather to clear. From the same camp as for Mount Columbia, it is possible to ascend a number of other high peaks in the area, including North Twin, South Twin, Kitchener, Stutfield. Snow Dome is not a peak by Rockies standards
8.
Banff National Park
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Banff National Park /ˈbæmf/ is Canadas oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains. The Icefields Parkway extends from Lake Louise, connecting to Jasper National Park in the north, Provincial forests and Yoho National Park are neighbours to the west, while Kootenay National Park is located to the south and Kananaskis Country to the southeast. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of Banff, the Canadian Pacific Railway was instrumental in Banffs early years, building the Banff Springs Hotel and Lake Louise Chalet, and attracting tourists through extensive advertising. In the early 20th century, roads were built in Banff, at times by war internees from World War I, since the 1960s, park accommodations have been open all year, with annual tourism visits to Banff increasing to over 5 million in the 1990s. Millions more pass through the park on the Trans-Canada Highway, as Banff has over three million visitors annually, the health of its ecosystem has been threatened. In the mid-1990s, Parks Canada responded by initiating a two-year study, which resulted in management recommendations, Banff National Park has a subarctic climate with three ecoregions, including montane, subalpine, and alpine. The forests are dominated by Lodgepole pine at lower elevations and Engelmann spruce in higher ones below the treeline, above which is primarily rocks and ice. Mammal species such as the grizzly, cougar, wolverine, elk, bighorn sheep and moose are found, reptiles and amphibians are also found but only a limited number of species have been recorded. The mountains are formed from rocks which were pushed east. Erosion from water and ice have carved the mountains into their current shapes, throughout its history, Banff National Park has been shaped by tension between conservationist and land exploitation interests. Archaeological evidence found at Vermilion Lakes indicates the first human activity in Banff to 10,300 B. P. Prior to European contact, aboriginals, including the Stoneys, Kootenay, Tsuu Tina, Kainai, Peigans, with the admission of British Columbia to Canada on 20 July 1871, Canada agreed to build a transcontinental railroad. Construction of the began in 1875, with Kicking Horse Pass chosen, over the more northerly Yellowhead Pass. Ten years later, on 7 November 1885, the last spike was driven in Craigellachie, under the Rocky Mountains Park Act, enacted on 23 June 1887, the park was expanded to 674 km2 and named Rocky Mountains Park. This was Canadas first national park, and the established in North America, after Yellowstone. The Canadian Pacific Railway built the Banff Springs Hotel and Lake Louise Chalet to attract tourists, the Stoney First Nations were removed from Banff National Park between the years 1890 and 1920. The park was designed to appeal to sportsmen, and tourists, the exclusionary policy met the goals of sports hunting, tourism, and game conservation, as well as of those attempting to civilize the Indians. Early on, Banff was popular with wealthy European and American tourists, some visitors participated in mountaineering activities, often hiring local guides
9.
Edmonton
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Edmonton /ˈɛdməntən/ is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, the city anchors the north end of what Statistics Canada defines as the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The city had a population of 932,546 in 2016, making it Albertas second-largest city, also in 2016, Edmonton had a metropolitan population of 1,321,426, making it the sixth-largest census metropolitan area in Canada. Edmonton is North Americas northernmost city with a population over one million. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian, Edmontons historic growth has been facilitated through the absorption of five adjacent urban municipalities and a series of annexations ending in 1982. Known as the Gateway to the North, the city is a point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta. Edmonton is a cultural, governmental and educational centre and it hosts a year-round slate of festivals, reflected in the nickname Canadas Festival City. It is home to North Americas largest mall, West Edmonton Mall, in 1754, Anthony Henday, an explorer for the Hudsons Bay Company, may have been the first European to enter the Edmonton area. By 1795, Fort Edmonton was established on the north bank as a major trading post for the Hudsons Bay Company. The new forts name was suggested by John Peter Pruden after Edmonton, London, the home town of both the HBC deputy governor Sir James Winter Lake, and Pruden. In 1876, Treaty 6, which includes what is now Edmonton, was signed between the Aboriginal peoples in Canada and Queen Victoria as Queen of Canada, as part of the Numbered Treaties of Canada. The agreement includes the Plains and Woods Cree, Assiniboine, and other governments of First Nations at Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt. The area covered by the treaty represents most of the area of the current provinces of Saskatchewan. The arrival of the CPR and the C&E Railway helped bring settlers and entrepreneurs from eastern Canada, Europe, U. S. the Edmonton areas fertile soil and cheap land attracted settlers, further establishing Edmonton as a major regional commercial and agricultural centre. Some people participating in the Klondike Gold Rush passed through South Edmonton/Strathcona in 1897, in November 1905, the Canadian Northern Railway arrived in Edmonton, accelerating growth. During the early 1900s, Edmontons rapid growth led to speculation in real estate, in 1912, Edmonton amalgamated with the City of Strathcona, south of the North Saskatchewan River, as a result, the city extended south of the North Saskatchewan River for the first time. Just prior to World War I, the boom ended, many impoverished families moved to subsistence farms outside the city, while others fled to greener pastures in other provinces. Recruitment to the Canadian army during the war contributed to the drop in population
10.
Glacier
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A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight, it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight, creating crevasses, seracs and they also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines. Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice, between 35°N and 35°S, glaciers occur only in the Himalayas, Andes, Rocky Mountains, a few high mountains in East Africa, Mexico, New Guinea and on Zard Kuh in Iran. Glaciers cover about 10 percent of Earths land surface, continental glaciers cover nearly 13,000,000 km2 or about 98 percent of Antarcticas 13,200,000 km2, with an average thickness of 2,100 m. Greenland and Patagonia also have huge expanses of continental glaciers, Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth. Within high altitude and Antarctic environments, the temperature difference is often not sufficient to release meltwater. A large piece of compressed ice, or a glacier, appears blue as large quantities of water appear blue and this is because water molecules absorb other colors more efficiently than blue. The other reason for the color of glaciers is the lack of air bubbles. Air bubbles, which give a color to ice, are squeezed out by pressure increasing the density of the created ice. The word Glaceon is a loanword from French and goes back, via Franco-Provençal, to the Vulgar Latin glaciārium, derived from the Late Latin glacia, the processes and features caused by or related to glaciers are referred to as glacial. The process of establishment, growth and flow is called glaciation. The corresponding area of study is called glaciology, Glaciers are important components of the global cryosphere. Glaciers are categorized by their morphology, thermal characteristics, and behavior, cirque glaciers form on the crests and slopes of mountains. A glacier that fills a valley is called a valley glacier, a large body of glacial ice astride a mountain, mountain range, or volcano is termed an ice cap or ice field. Ice caps have a less than 50,000 km2 by definition. Glacial bodies larger than 50,000 km2 are called ice sheets or continental glaciers, several kilometers deep, they obscure the underlying topography. Only nunataks protrude from their surfaces, the only extant ice sheets are the two that cover most of Antarctica and Greenland. They contain vast quantities of water, enough that if both melted, global sea levels would rise by over 70 m
11.
Columbia Icefield
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The Columbia Icefield is the largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains of North America. It is about 325 square kilometres in area,100 metres to 365 metres in depth, the Columbia Icefield was formed during the Great Glaciation, or Illinoisan period. The initial advancement of the ice field ended during the millennia of the Early Wisconsinan period. The next major advance of the ice occurred during the Late Wisconsinan period. During the Crowfoot Glacier advance, humans learned farming and civilizations began to develop along the Tigris, Euphrates, the last major period of advance occurred during the Little Ice Age, which lasted from about 1,200 to 1900 AD. Around 1800, the Athabasca Glacier peaked, then went through a period of recession, and then advanced again until 1840, the Columbia Icefield was one of the last major geological features to be discovered by man in western Canada, due to its isolation and harsh weather conditions. In April 1827, Scottish botanist David Douglas was crossing Athabasca Pass—a major trading route located north of the Icefield—when he climbed one of the adjacent mountain peaks and he reported his first ascent in his journal, describing it to be 6,000 metres in height. In the summer of 1884, geology professor Arthur Philemon Coleman explored the Great Divide from Banff to Jasper in search of Douglas giant peak, while unsuccessful, he did discover the route that would become the Icefield Parkway. In July 1898, British explorer J. Norman Collie and his friends Hugh Stutfield and Herman Wooley set off in search of Douglas giants, equipped by the famous Banff outfitter Bill Peyto. Collie later wrote, The view that lay before us in the light was one that does not often fall to the lot of modern mountaineers. A new world was spread at our feet, to the westward stretched a vast ice-field probably never seen by the human eye. In 1900, former British clergyman James Outram came to the Canadian Rockies to recover his health after a nervous breakdown, the following year he made the first ascent of Mount Assiniboine, then considered the Matterhorn of the Rockies. In 1902, Outram made ten first ascents of peaks over 3,050 metres, two of his first ascents in 1902 were Mount Columbia and Mount Bryce, one of the most dangerous and difficult summits in the Rocky Mountains. Following World War I, other mountaineering firsts occurred, in 1923, American climbers James Munroe Thorington and W. S. Ladd joined Austrian guide Conrad Kain to summit the daunting North Twin Peak, Mount Columbia, and Mount Saskatchewan in five days. During his sixty-three-day visit to the Columbia Icefield, Ostheimer and his two companions walked over a 1,000 kilometres and climbed thirty peaks—twenty-five of which were first ascents, in March 1932, three men undertook a remarkable skiing journey from Jasper to Banff that covered about 500 kilometres. Their accomplishment played a role in generating worldwide interest in the Canadian Rockies. Today, mountaineers and skiers from around the world come to the Columbia Icefield to explore some of the classic routes discovered by early pioneers of mountaineering. The Athabasca Glacier has receded significantly since its greatest modern-era extent in 1844, during the summer months visitors to the area can travel onto the glacier in the comfort of large snowcoaches
12.
Lake
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A lake is an area of variable size filled with water, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land, apart from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, and therefore are distinct from lagoons, Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are usually flowing. Most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams, natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers, in some parts of the world there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them. The word lake comes from Middle English lake, from Old English lacu, from Proto-Germanic *lakō, cognates include Dutch laak, Middle Low German lāke as in, de, Moorlake, de, Wolfslake, de, Butterlake, German Lache, and Icelandic lækur. Also related are the English words leak and leach, none of these definitions completely excludes ponds and all are difficult to measure. For this reason, simple size-based definitions are used to separate ponds. One definition of lake is a body of water of 2 hectares or more in area, however, others have defined lakes as waterbodies of 5 hectares and above, or 8 hectares and above. Charles Elton, one of the founders of ecology, regarded lakes as waterbodies of 40 hectares or more. The term lake is used to describe a feature such as Lake Eyre. In common usage, many bear names ending with the word pond. One textbook illustrates this point with the following, In Newfoundland, for example, almost every lake is called a pond, whereas in Wisconsin, the majority of lakes on Earth are fresh water, and most lie in the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes. Canada, with a drainage system has an estimated 31,752 lakes larger than 3 square kilometres and an unknown total number of lakes. Finland has 187,888 lakes 500 square metres or larger, most lakes have at least one natural outflow in the form of a river or stream, which maintain a lakes average level by allowing the drainage of excess water. Some lakes do not have an outflow and lose water solely by evaporation or underground seepage or both. Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for power generation, aesthetic purposes, recreational purposes, industrial use. Globally, lakes are greatly outnumbered by ponds, of an estimated 304 million standing water bodies worldwide, 91% are 1 hectare or less in area
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