Waterton Lakes National Park

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Feb 4, 2007 | by Carma Wadley Deseret Morning News

What goes up one side comes down the other. What has a front has a back. If one side is gorgeous, chances are the other side will be, too -- especially when it comes to mountains in general, and more specifically to mountains that make national parks.

So it is with Glacier National Park in the United States and Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada. They are front and back -- or one side and the other side -- of the same Rocky Mountain chain.

When Glacier was made a national park in 1910, Waterton Lakes followed in 1911. Both were natural paradises that attracted early visitors who came to see mountains that had been shaped by glacial action eons ago.

In 1932, following a drive initiated by the Rotary Clubs of Alberta and Montana, the two parks joined together to form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, the first such joint effort in the world.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of that momentous joining, designed "not just to promote peace and goodwill between nations, but also to underscore the international nature of wilderness and the cooperation required in its protection." The two have since also been designated Biosphere Reserves and in 1995 were named a World Heritage Site. Special activities at the park throughout the year will honor the initial joining.

At 203 square miles, Waterton Lakes is by far the smaller of the two parks, but that size gives it an intimate feel and a personality all its own.

From this Canadian side, you get an exciting look at the amazing process of mountain-building. You see rather clearly the abrupt rise of the mountains from the flatlands, the demarcation line "where the mountains meet the prairie." No surprise that that's the catch- phrase theme of the park.

There are no glaciers in Waterton now, but the landscape shows evidence of icy movement in the past: hanging valleys, cirques, aretes, waterfalls. The park centers around the three Waterton lakes: Upper, Middle and Lower. They are named for a British naturalist who spent most of his energies far south of here. Charles Waterton roamed South America and the Caribbean and was the man who introduced curare into Western medicine. He never saw the lakes named in his honor by Thomas Blackiston, who led the first-recorded European visitors through the area in 1858 on the Palliser Expedition. He himself is honored by the tallest mountain in the park; Mount Blackiston rises to 9,580 feet.

Upper Waterton Lake lies to the south; the U.S.-Canadian border cuts across its southern tip, and with a depth of 492 feet, it is the deepest lake in the Canadian Rockies.

The little township of Waterton nestles on the shores of Middle Waterton Lake. Lower Waterton Lake is near the park entrance.

If this arrangement seems like upper should be lower and lower upper, it is not the only backwards thing here. Some of the rocks in Waterton are among the oldest in the world, dating back 1.5 billion years. But the thrust and twists of geologic forces often put the older rocks on top of younger ones, so they are sometimes referred to as "upside-down" mountains.

Such forces of nature create scenery that dazzles the senses. But they also make for a habitat that supports a variety of animal and plant life. There are bears, coyotes and other animals in the back country. But even visitors to the less remote areas are likely to see mule deer and bighorn sheep. Waterton is especially known for its diverse plant life. More than half of all the plant species found anywhere in Alberta are found within the park's borders.

The most recognizable landmark of Waterton Lakes National Park is probably the Prince of Wales Hotel, which sits on a bluff overlooking Middle Waterton Lake.

Built in 1927, the hotel is an eloquent remnant of the golden age of railway resort development in both the United States and Canada. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, railroad magnates promoted railway travel -- especially among the affluent -- by providing destination resorts in scenic locations.

In 1910, James Hill, president of the Great Northern Railway, was one of the first to see the combined promise of Glacier and Waterton Lakes parks; and, with his son Louis, came up with a plan to build a chain of hotels, camps, chalets, boats, roads and trails that would make the parks "the playground of the Northwest."

The Prince of Wales was the only Canadian link in this U.S. chain -- and conversely became the only American hotel in the Canadian chain that included the farther-north parks of Banff and Jasper.

With soaring roof, gables and balconies, the Prince of Wales was designed to look like a grandiose alpine chalet. The timber-framed interior still calls to mind the rustic elegance the period was known for.

After 1927, visitors who came by rail to Glacier often ended their trip with a boat ride from Goat Haunt, in the United States, through Upper and Middle Waterton Lakes to the Prince of Wales. It's still possible to do that.

But most people now arrive by road. The drive from Glacier on the Chief Mountain International Highway is a scenic one that provides panoramic views of mountains and wilderness, as well as the monolithic Chief Mountain. It takes you into the park on the northern side. From there it's a short drive to Middle Waterton Lake.