Glacier National Park, on the US side, and Waterton National Park, on the Canadian side, are two national parks which, together, form a World Heritage Site, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and
an International Peace Park, the world's first!
On September 1, 2016 the book
Historic Glacier National Park:
The Stories Behind One of America's Great Treasures was published. Written by Randi Minetor, the 208 page book delves into the history of the park, highlighting the people and the places of the park, those who built it and those who simply enjoyed its magnificence and grandeur.
Waterton Glacier International Peace Park
Historic Glacier National Park captures the most interesting moments in the park’s history, the slices of life in northwestern Montana that provide an idea of what life was like for those who chose to explore this gloriously beautiful snowy corner of the United States. There’s the presence of Native Americans in nearly every aspect of the park’s history, the significant influence of the Great Northern Railway as a leader as the park gained its footing, and people who made history in this astonishing Rocky Mountain landscape. Once Congress decided to make Glacier a national park, developers created hotels, chalets, campgrounds, residences, and the most spectacularly scenic road in the United States. Historic Glacier National Park provides just enough of this rich history to make the experience of visiting the park better than expected.
From Amazon
From Triple Divide Peak within the park water flows to Hudson's Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Mount Cleveland, îts highest peak, reaches an elevation of 10,434 feet, and there are many other rugged mountains ranging from 6,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level.
Within the 1 million acres (4,000 km2) of Glacier National Park are to be found more than 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants, and hundreds of species of animals. Officially established on May 11, 1910 when President Taft signed the bill establishing Glacier as the country's 10th national park. Glacier National Park is managed by the
National Park Service and today is host to more than 2 million visitors annually.
When established in 1910 Glacier National Park contained 60 or more true glaciers, ranging in size from small glaciers of a few acres each to those covering five square miles. It also contained over 250 glacial lakes, from a few hundred square feet to ten square miles in area. Given the current rate of retreat of the glaciers of Glacier National Park, it seems likely that its glaciers will all have vanished within a only few short years. This is truly lamentable, for reasons much beyond their visual allure and their ability to attract tourists.