WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 403

Waterton. The town itself sits on an alluvial fan composed of silt and gravel picked up by
mountain streams and deposited in Upper Waterton Lake.
Climate
Climate plays an active role in creating the park's natural landscape. This corner of the
province tends to receive more rain, snow, and wind—much more wind—than other parts
of Alberta. These factors, combined with the park's varied topography, create an environ-
ment where more than half the known species in Alberta have been recorded. Wind is the
most powerful presence in the park. Prevailing winds from the south and west bring Pa-
cific weather over the divide, creating a climate similar to that experienced farther west.
These warm fronts endow the region with chinooks —dry winds that can raise temperat-
ures in the park by up to 40°C (104°F) in 24 hours.
One of the nicest aspects of the park is that it can be enjoyed in all seasons. Summer
is great for the sunny windless days, fall for the wildlife viewing, winter for the solitude,
and spring for the long days of sunlight as the park seems to be waking up from its winter
slumber. Be aware, however, that many of the park's best sights and hiking trails lie at high
elevations; some areas may be snowed in until mid-June.
FLORA
Botanists have recorded 1,200 species of plants growing within the park's several different
vegetation zones. In the park's northeastern corner, near the park gate, a region of prairies
is covered in semiarid vegetation such as fescue grass. As Highway 5 enters the park it
passes Maskinonge Lake, a wetlands area of marshy ponds where aquatic plants flourish.
Parkland habitat dominated by aspen is found along the north side of Blakiston Valley and
near Belly River Campground, while montane forest covers most mountain valleys and
lower slopes. This montane zone is dominated by a high canopy of lodgepole pine and
Douglas fir shading a forest floor covered with wildflowers and berries. An easily access-
ible section of this habitat is along the lower half of Bertha Lake Trail; an interpretive bro-
chure is available at the Waterton Visitor Centre.
Above the montane forest is the subalpine zone, which rises as far as the timberline.
These distinct forests of larch, fir, Engelmann spruce, and whitebark pine can be seen
along the Carthew Lakes Trail. On the west-facing slopes of Cameron Lake are mature
groves of subalpine trees up to 400 years old; this oldest growth in the park has managed
to escape fire over the centuries. Blanketing the open mountain slopes in this zone is bear
grass, which grows up to one meter (three feet) in height and is topped by a bright blossom