Wildlife Archives - Parks

Band-e Amir National Park

Graeme — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:01:00 -0400

Afghanistan just created it's first National Park, named Band-e Amir. Band-e Amir (meaning "Dam of the Amir") refers to five lakes high in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Central Afghanistan. They were created by the carbon dioxide rich water oozing out of the faults and fractures to deposit calcium carbonate precipitate in the form of travertine walls that today store the water of these lakes. Band-e Amir is situated at approximately 75 kilometers to the north-west of the ancient city of Bamyan.

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Source : Wikipedia

Tassili n'Ajjer National Park

Graeme — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:17:00 +0000

The Tassili n'Ajjer is a mountain range in the Sahara desert in southeast Algeria, North Africa. The highest point is Adrar Afao, 2158 m. The nearest town is Djanet, about 10 km southwest of the range.

Much of the range, including the cypresses and archaeological sites, is protected in a National park, Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site, named the Tassili n'Ajjer National Park. It's one of the largest national parks in the world, with about 72 000 km2.

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Sources : Wikipedia, WCPA, Natural Arches

Rwenzori Mountains National Parks

Graeme — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:36:29 +0000

Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage site located in the Rwenzori Mountains between Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It includes approximately 1 000 square kilometres of land. Within that land are numerous waterfalls, lakes, glaciers, and the third highest mountain in Africa - Mount Stanley.

Mount Stanley

Everlasting flower

Agrandir le plan

Sources : Rwenzori.com, Wikipedia, UNESCO

Banff National Park

Graeme — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 08:25:55 +0000

Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885, in the Canadian Rockies. The park, located 120 kilometres west of Calgary in the province of Alberta, encompasses 6 641 square kilometres of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. 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, in the Bow River valley.

Map of Banff National Park

Source : Wikipedia

Joshua Tree National Park

Graeme — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 07:25:39 +0000

Joshua Tree National Park is located in south-eastern California. Declared a U.S. National Park in 1994, it was previously a U.S. National Monument. It includes 3 196 km² (1 234 mi²) of land. A large part of the park is designated wilderness area; some 2 367 km² (914 mi²).

Source : Wikipedia

Alberto de Agostini National Park

Graeme — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 10:30:45 +0000

Beagle Channel Glacier in the Alberto de Agostini National Park, Chile.

Alberto de Agostini National Park is located in the Chilean part of Tierra del Fuego. It covers 14 600 square kilometres and includes the Cordillera Darwin (mountain range). Several tidewater glaciers form part of this park.

Alberto de Agostini Park map

Source : Wikipedia

The Tablelands, Gros Morne National Park

Graeme — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 03:13:36 +0000

Gros Morne National Park is located on the west coast of Newfoundland. At 1,805 km², it is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada (surpassed by Torngat Mountains National Park's 9,600 km²).

The park takes its name from Newfoundland's second-highest mountain peak (at 806 m) located within the park. Its French meaning is "large mountain standing alone," or more literally "great sombre." Gros Morne is a member of the Long Range Mountains, an outlying range of the Appalachian Mountains, stretching the length of the island's west coast. It is the worn-down remnants of a mountain range formed 1.2 billion years ago.

The Tablelands, found between the towns of Trout River and Woody Point in Gros Morne National Park, look more like a barren desert than tradional Newfoundland. This is due to the ultramafic rock - peridotite - which makes up the Tablelands. It is thought to originate in the earth's mantle and was forced up from the depths during a plate collision several hundred million years ago. Peridotite lacks the usual nutrients required to sustain most plant life, hence its barren appearance. The rock is very low in calcium, very high in magnesium, and has toxic amounts of heavy metals. Peridotite is also high in iron, which accounts for its brownish colour (rusted colour). Underneath this weathered zone, the rock is really a dark green colour.

Gros Morne National Park map

Source : Wikipedia