Browse "National parks"

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, The Canadian Encyclopedia created 30 lists of 30 things that make us proud to be Canadian, from famous people and historic events, to iconic foods and influential artists.

Centred on the wide Thomsen River valley on Banks Island, Aulavik National Park (set aside 1992, 12 200 km2) has an Inuvialuktun name that means "where people travel." The name was suggested by one of the elders of Sachs Harbour, the only community on the island.

Located on the Cumberland Peninsula of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Auyuittuq National Park (established 2001, 19 089 km2) was Canada's first national park located north of the Arctic Circle. It was first set up as a national park reserve in 1976 and established as a national park through the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.

Banff National Park (established 1885, 6,641 km2) is Canada's first and most visited National Park.

Bruce Peninsula National Park (established 1987, 156 km2) consists of a former provincial park and private lands acquired on a "willing buyer-willing seller" basis. Over 75% of the total area of the park has been acquired.

Cape Breton Highlands National Park (established 1936) stretches across the northern tip of Cape Breton Island.

  Elk Island National Park (established 1913, 194 km2) is a sanctuary of rolling woodlands and meadows dotted with lakes, bogs and ponds, 48 km east of Edmonton.

Consisting of the former Fathom Five Provincial Park and the western sector of Georgian Bay Islands National Park, Fathom Five National Marine Park (established 1987, 113 km2) was the first National Marine Park to be established in Canada.

Forillon National Park (established 1974, 240.4 km2) lies at the outer tip of the Gaspé Peninsula.

Fundy National Park (established 1948, 205.9 km2), renowned for its high tides averaging 9 m, stretches for 13 km along the Bay of Fundy and extends inland where wooded hills are cut by deep valleys and tumbling streams.

Georgian Bay Islands National Park (established 1929, 12.7 km2) comprises 59 islands located off the southeast coast of Georgian Bay.

Glacier National Park (established 1886, 1349.3 km2) was carved from the rugged Selkirk and Purcell mountains of BC by more than 400 glaciers.

   A 1981 agreement between the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan provided for the future establishment of Grasslands National Park, which will eventually encompass 906.4 km2. More than 60% of the lands required for the park have already been acquired on a "willing-seller willing-buyer" basis.

In 1970, an agreement was signed to establish Gros Morne National Park (1805 km2) on the west coast of Newfoundland. In 1987 Gros Morne National Park was designated a United Nations World Heritage Site because of its glacial and geologic history.

Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is located in the southern Gulf Islands between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland. Created in 2003 and formally established in 2010, the park encompasses 36 km2 of land and 26 km2 of adjacent waters.

Initially known as Northern Yukon National Park, it was given an Inuvialuit name in 1992. Ivvavik means "place of giving birth and raising young" in reference to the Porcupine Caribou herd that has its calving grounds along the Beaufort Sea coast.

Jasper National Park is a protected area located in the Rocky Mountains, about 370 km west of Edmonton, Alberta. Established in 1907, it was the fifth national park created in Canada. It’s also one of seven parks in the Rocky Mountains that make up the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage site (the others are Yoho, Banff and Kootenay national parks, and Mount Robson, Mount Assiniboine and Hamber provincial parks). Among the reasons for the UNESCO designation are the parks’ mountain landscapes, complete with waterfalls, canyons and glaciers, including those found in the Columbia Icefield.

The wildlife is diverse. The park's marshes, bogs and shallow lakes support more species of reptiles and amphibians than occur anywhere else in Atlantic Canada, including such rarities as the ribbon snake and Blanding's turtle.

Kluane National Park and Reserve (est 1972, 22 013.3 km2) is an area of unclimbed peaks, vast ice fields, clear lakes, glaciers and spectacular wildlife.

Kootenay National Park (established 1920, 1406.4 km2) is located on the west slope of the Continental Divide. The park, stretching north and south for 104 km, is bounded on the east by Banff and Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park on the north by Yoho National Park.