The Rocky Mountains - Fabulous Western Canada: Capture the Excitement of the Great West! - page 124

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The roaring waters of Sunwapta Falls. © Travel Alberta

5 Athabasca Falls illuminates its surroundings with a rainbow.

© Travel Alberta

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Majestic Mount Edith Cavell. © Travel Alberta

Fifty-fi ve kilometres before Jasper, the
Sunwapta Falls and canyon pro-
vide a good example of how water can
work away at limestone. The country-
side offers some typical examples of
suspended valleys, which result when
smaller glaciers attach themselves to
larger ones. The valley left by the larger
glacier is much deeper, and the shal-
lower, smaller one appears suspended.
Several hiking trails have been cleared,
one of which leads to the base of the
Sunwapta Falls. Visitors should be care-
ful when hiking here, as this is one of
the park's prime habitats for bears and
moose.

The trail leading to the 23m high
Athabasca Falls , located about 25
kilometres farther along, takes about
an hour to hike. The concrete structure
built there is an unfortunate addition
to the natural surroundings, but heavy
traffi c in the area would have other-
wise destroyed the fragile vegetation.
Furthermore, some careless visitors
have suffered accidents because they
got too close to the edge of the canyon.
Travellers are therefore reminded not to
go beyond the barriers.

Several hiking trails have been cleared
to allow visitors to enjoy a better view
of majestic Mount Edith Cavell
(3,363m), as well as its suspended gla-