Yoho National Park: landscape and origins
Yoho is the smallest of the four Rocky Mountain national parks, and the one with the oldest fossils: 1,313 square kilometres (507 sq mi) of the western slopes of the Main Ranges.
The park lies in south-eastern British Columbia and protects 1,313 square kilometres (507 sq mi) of the western slopes of the Main Ranges in the Rocky Mountains natural region. Its land, ice and waters are part of the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa and the Secwépemc and are places of ecological, cultural and historical importance.
From river valleys and glaciers to alpine meadows and summits, Yoho holds very different ecosystems. The alpine zone is important habitat for mountain goats, grizzly bears, pikas and whitebark pine. The park is home to at least 224 bird species, 58 mammal species, four native fish species and one reptile species, plus thousands of insect species. Glacial meltwater feeds the waterfalls, the turquoise lakes and the Kicking Horse River.
Yoho is famous for the Burgess Shale. The fossils are over 500 million years old, far older than the dinosaurs. At that time this land lay under a shallow sea; today the remains of that marine world sit in the shale high up in the mountains. Not only shells were preserved but soft body parts: eyes, guts, even brains. The Mount Stephen and Walcott Quarry fossil sites are restricted areas and can only be visited on a guided hike.
The name also comes from the history of exploration: during the Palliser Expedition, James Hector, who was scouting ahead, was kicked in the chest by a horse, and he named the nearby pass Kicking Horse Pass. The Canadian Pacific Railway routed its transcontinental line through this pass and built a hotel with a restaurant at the foot of Mount Stephen so that it would not have to haul heavy dining cars up the mountain. This gave rise to the Mount Stephen Reserve, renamed Yoho National Park in 1901.
Parks Canada: nature and science (Yoho) ↗
The park in numbers
- Area
- 1,313 km² (507 sq mi)
- Location
- Western slopes of the Main Ranges, south-eastern British Columbia
- Current name since
- 1901, previously Mount Stephen Reserve
- Birds
- at least 224 species
- Mammals
- 58 species
- Native fish
- 4 species
- Reptiles
- 1 species
- Burgess Shale
- over 500 million years old
- Traditional territory
- Ktunaxa and Secwépemc
- UNESCO World Heritage
- since 1984, part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks
