Photo Taken at the Overlander by Jesse Urlacher

Jasper National Park is one of Canada's most popular natural attractions. The following are five facts about Jasper National Park, which may help to explain the park's enduring popularity.

1. Nature on a vast scale  stretching over an area of 10,878 square kilometers, Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies. The highest mountain in Alberta, Mount Columbia, can be found in the Jasper National Park, with a dizzying height of 3747 meters. The park also has Canada's longest underground drainage system. Jasper National Park is a great place to see Canadian beauty on a record-breaking scale.

2. Mount Edith Cavell

This mountain, located 5 km south of Jasper town, is named after English nurse Edith Cavell, in recognition of the help she gave to prisoners-of-war during the World War I. She was executed by the Germans for helping the men to escape from Belgium, but this mountain still stands tall in her name. More info

3. Hear the Sounds of Nature in Jasper National Park

Jasper National Park is home to at least 82 species of songbirds. The birds can be heard singing in the forests, providing a musical background to the natural beauty of the area. Jasper National Park rangers use bird banding to track the songbirds; there are opportunities for volunteers to get involved in the project.

4. Jasper National Park: Hot Stuff!

Jasper National Park contains the Miette Hotsprings, which are the hottest springs in the Rockies. Water bubbles up from these springs at a sizzling 54ºC. The surrounding pools, where visitors can bathe, are a comfortably warm 39ºC.

Read about the health benefits of Natural Hot Springs here

See our dinner and hot springs package here

5. Caribou Conservation at Jasper National Park

Caribou numbers have dropped rapidly over the last few decades, with their numbers plummeting to only 250 animals by 2010. Herds of caribou in Jasper National Park have attracted the interest of researchers and conservationists, who have rallied to their aid. There is now a concentrated effort to understand the reasons for the caribou's decline so that these native animals can be saved.

References

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper/ne/ei-ie.aspx

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper/ne/ne6/1.aspx

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper/natcul/natcul4.aspx