Glacier National Park (U.S.)

Glacier National Park is an American national park located in northwestern Montana, on the Canada–United States border. The park includes parts of two mountain ranges, over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants, and hundreds of species of animals. The mountains of Glacier National Park began forming 170 million years ago when ancient rocks were forced eastward up and over much younger rock strata.

About Glacier National Park (U.S.) in brief

Glacier National Park is an American national park located in northwestern Montana, on the Canada–United States border. The park encompasses over 1 million acres and includes parts of two mountain ranges, over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants, and hundreds of species of animals. The mountains of Glacier National Park began forming 170 million years ago when ancient rocks were forced eastward up and over much younger rock strata. Scientists studying the glaciers in the park have estimated that all the active glaciers may disappear by 2030 if current climate patterns persist. There has been a fire every year of the park’s existence except 1964. 64 fires occurred in 1936, the most on record. In 2003, six fires burned approximately 136,000 acres, more than 13% of the Park. Glacier National park borders Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada, which was designated as the world’s first International Peace Park in 1932. Both parks were designated by the United Nations as Biosphere Reserves in 1976, and in 1995 as World Heritage sites. In April 2017, the joint park received a provisional Gold Tier designation as Waterton-Glaciers International Dark Sky Park through the International Dark sky Association, the first transboundary dark sky park. According to archeological evidence, Native Americans first arrived in the Glacier area some 10,000 years ago. The earliest occupants with lineage to current tribes were the Flathead and Kootenai, Shoshone, and Cheyenne.

The Blackfeet lived on the eastern slopes of what later became the park, as well as the Great Plains immediately to the east. Today, the Blackfeet Indian Reservation borders the park the east, while the Lame Bull Reservation is located west and south of the current park. When the park was first established in 1855, it included the eastern area up to the Continental Divide. To the southeast, this area, especially the Mountain Mountain and Two Medicine, were considered in the Backbone of the World, and frequented during vision quests by Chief White Calfbone. This area is considered to be the public land of the United States, especially as long as the land is ceded to the U.S. government for USD 1.5 million, with the understanding that they would maintain rights to use the land for hunting. In 1895, some 800,000 of the mountain land was ceded as the ceded land for public use. This land will be established as the public stripe of the Calfbones Reservation, which will be open to the public long as it remains open to hunting. The Calffeet Reservation was established in the early 1900s. In the early 20th century, the park became part of the National Park Service, and it is still part of it today. It has numerous ecosystems ranging from prairie to tundra. The park has almost all its original native plant and animal species. Large mammals such as grizzly bears, moose, and mountain goats, aswell as rare or endangered species like wolverines and Canadian lynxes, inhabit the park.

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