Yoho National Park


Yoho National Park

(yō`hō), 507 sq mi (1,313 sq km), SE British Columbia, Canada, in the Rocky Mts. at the Alta. border; est. 1886. It lies W of the Continental Divide, adjoining Banff and Kootenay national parks, and contains lakes, glaciers, waterfalls, and high mountains, with a number of peaks more than 10,000 ft (3,048 m) high. Park headquarters are at Field, which is a center for mountain climbing.

Yoho National Park

Parks Directory of the United States / Canadian National ParksAddress:PO Box 99
Field, BC V0A1G0
Phone:250-343-6783
Fax:250-343-6012
Web: www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/yoho
Size: 1,313 sq. km.
Established: 1896.
Location:On the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains near Field, British Columbia; 832 km. east of Vancouver, and 210 km west of Calgary on the Trans-Canada Hwy 1. Borders Banff National Park to the east and Kootenay National Park to the south (see separate entries).
Facilities:The town of Field, located in the park, includes lodge, guest houses, restaurants, and other basic services. Park facilities also include Emerald Lake Lodge (24 cabin-style buildings), 4 frontcountry campgrounds, backcountry campgrounds, and hiking trails (400 km).
Activities:Camping, hiking, canoeing and kayaking, rafting, fishing, horseback riding, bicycling, mountaineering, wildlife viewing, cross-country skiing, interpretive programs.
Special Features:Park includes 28 mountain peaks over 3,000 meters and one of the world's most important fossil finds, the Burgess Shale Formation, that contains the fossilized remains of more than 120 marine animal species dating back 515 million years. The Burgess Shale World Heritage Site is now incorporated into the larger Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site with Yoho, Kootenay, Banff and Jasper national parks, and Mt. Assiniboine, Mt. Robson and Hamber provincial parks. Other notable features at Yoho include the Spiral Tunnels, which were cut through the park's mountains to make way for the railroad; Takakkaw Falls, with a free fall of 254 meters, the third highest in Canada; and the Natural Bridge, where the Kicking Horse River has carved its way through solid rock.
See other parks in British Columbia.