On One Of Canada's Most Scenic Drives
I composed this photograph during a recent road trip on the Kananaskis Trail (Hwy 40) through Alberta, Canada's Kananaskis Country (K-Country). The Highwood Pass is about half-way through the Kananaskis Trail. It is the highest paved pass in Canada, and is described as one of this country's most scenic drives. Mountain scenes such as pictured here are everywhere, each one unique in its peaks and shapes and colours and trails and valleys. The Pass is closed each year from December 1 to June 14 due to very high snowfall and to protect wildlife, including the area's vibrant Grizzly Bear population and the ever-present Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.
About Kananaskis Country?
Kananaskis Country (K-Country) is a wilderness recreation area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The name Kananaskis was chosen 150 years ago to name the lakes, valley, and river visited by Captain John Palliser on his expedition through the area. The name comes from the Cree 'Kin-e-a-kis' and is said to be the name of a warrior who survived an axe blow to the head.
Archaeological evidence of human use of Kananaskis Country goes back over 8000 years, and the Stoney-Nakoda, Siksika, Blood, and Kootenai First Nations all have deep connection to this land. The mountains one sees now look the same as the ones seen by these long-term residents thousands of years ago.
The jagged peaks and u-shaped valleys throughout Kananaskis Country are 12,000 year-old reminders of the last ice age, revealed as kilometre-thick, million-year old glaciers melted to mere remnants. The actual mountains were formed over the past 200 million years as tectonic plates forced layers of rock to pile, break, and fold into mountains once much taller than the post-glacier peaks we see today. The rock itself, mainly limestone, comes from layers of fossilized sea creatures that lived hundreds of millions of years ago in an inland sea that once covered southern Alberta.The evidence is seen in ancient coral reefs, oyster beds, and shark teeth throughout Kananaskis Country.
On One Of Canada's Most Scenic Drives
I composed this photograph during a recent road trip on the Kananaskis Trail (Hwy 40) through Alberta, Canada's Kananaskis Country (K-Country). The Highwood Pass is about half-way through the Kananaskis Trail. It is the highest paved pass in Canada, and is described as one of this country's most scenic drives. Mountain scenes such as pictured here are everywhere, each one unique in its peaks and shapes and colours and trails and valleys. The Pass is closed each year from December 1 to June 14 due to very high snowfall and to protect wildlife, including the area's vibrant Grizzly Bear population and the ever-present Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.
About Kananaskis Country?
Kananaskis Country (K-Country) is a wilderness recreation area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The name Kananaskis was chosen 150 years ago to name the lakes, valley, and river visited by Captain John Palliser on his expedition through the area. The name comes from the Cree 'Kin-e-a-kis' and is said to be the name of a warrior who survived an axe blow to the head.
Archaeological evidence of human use of Kananaskis Country goes back over 8000 years, and the Stoney-Nakoda, Siksika, Blood, and Kootenai First Nations all have deep connection to this land. The mountains one sees now look the same as the ones seen by these long-term residents thousands of years ago.
The jagged peaks and u-shaped valleys throughout Kananaskis Country are 12,000 year-old reminders of the last ice age, revealed as kilometre-thick, million-year old glaciers melted to mere remnants. The actual mountains were formed over the past 200 million years as tectonic plates forced layers of rock to pile, break, and fold into mountains once much taller than the post-glacier peaks we see today. The rock itself, mainly limestone, comes from layers of fossilized sea creatures that lived hundreds of millions of years ago in an inland sea that once covered southern Alberta.The evidence is seen in ancient coral reefs, oyster beds, and shark teeth throughout Kananaskis Country.