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About the Region
A gem in the family of Parks
Canada's national treasures, Kluane National Park and Reserve of
Canada
covers an
area of 21,980
square kilometres. Located in the southwestern corner of the Yukon
between northeastern British Columbia and the tidewaters of the
Alaskan
panhandle. Much of the park's 129 kilometre northern boundary is
made up of the Alaska Highway and the Haines Road. It is a land
of precipitous, high mountains, immense icefields and lush valleys
that yield a diverse array of
plant and wildlife species and provides for a host of outdoor activities.
Kluane National Park and Reserve is also home to Mount Logan (5959
m/19,545 ft), Canada's highest peak.
As part of a larger system of national parks and
historic sites found throughout Canada, Kluane National Park and
Reserve protects and presents a nationally significant
example of Canada's North Coast Mountains natural region and the associated
regional cultural heritage.
Mountains and glaciers are the essence of the park
taking up 82% of the surface area. Mount Logan, 96 kilometres from
the coast, is Canada's highest point (5959 metres) with Mount Steele,
Mount St. Elias, and Mount Lucania all above 5000 metres. Together
with the Boundary Range, the Icefield Range spawns a network of
over 2000 valley-bound glaciers, which radiate from the non-polar
icefields. Steep slopes, cliffs and mass wasting “ rock falls,
landslides and mudslides - characterize these glacial landforms.
Non-glaciated icefields, built up by moisture moving inland from
the Pacific, do not erode, but glaciers can sheer off vast quantities
of rock leaving behind isolated boulders.
Glacier created sand dunes and deltas built by dust storms are
often littered with smaller erratics left by icebergs as they floated
northward and melted on the shores.
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