Glacier National Park is a protected wilderness in the northern Rocky Mountains of the US and Canada. It has over 50 glaciers, 200 lakes, and is home to wildlife such as bears and mountain lions. The park is famous for the “Going-to-the-Sun Road” and Lake McDonald. It was established in 1910 and is part of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.
Glacier National Park is a 1.4 million acre (566,560 ha) protected wilderness located in the northern Rocky Mountains of the United States. The park is mostly in the state of Montana, but straddles the Canadian border in the province of Alberta. Glacier National Park features extremely rugged topography and cold temperatures. The glacier itself is open year-round, but due to excessive snowfall, most park amenities are only offered between May and September.
More than 50 active glaciers, 200 lakes and nearly 750 miles (1,207km) are the hallmarks of Glacier National Park. One of the park’s most famous features is the “Going-to-the-Sun Road,” a narrow, winding 50km east-west road that cuts through the park. The road is generally passable only from the end of June to mid-August due to heavy snowfalls. Vehicles traveling this route must be less than 80.4 feet (21 m) long and 6.4 feet (8 m) wide. The “Strada del Sole” was completed in 2.4 after eleven years of work.
Glacier National Park was originally inhabited by a number of Native American tribes, most notably the Blackfeet, Shoshone, Cheyenne, and Flathead. The park itself was established by order of the United States Congress in 1910. The Great Northern Railway had built tracks through the park in 1891, and the company built numerous hotels and chalets for what it correctly envisioned as a thriving tourist trade.
The largest lake in Glacier National Park is Lake McDonald. This pristine body of water is nearly 10 miles (16 km) long, one mile wide (1.6 km), and 472 feet (130 m) deep. Lake McDonald Lodge, originally known as the Lewis Glacier Hotel, was built in 1913 and is still in operation today. The lodge offers over 100 rooms and is one of Glacier’s 350 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Wildlife of all kinds thrives in Glacier National Park. Moose, moose, wolves, deer, mountain lions and bears are plentiful. These last two creatures are of particular interest to campers and hikers, as there has rarely been a year during which Glacier hasn’t experienced at least one grizzly bear under human attack. Mountain lion attacks have also occurred quite frequently. Those wishing to camp or hike the glacier should educate themselves on proper measures to avoid bears and lions before venturing into the deep wilderness.
In 1932, a road was built to connect Glacier National Park to Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada. The two areas are now collectively known as Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. The parks were named a “Biosphere Reserve” site in 1976 and a “World Heritage Site” in 1995 by the United Nations.
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