Kluane National Park and Reserve (; french: Parc national et réserve de parc national de Kluane) are two protected areas in the southwest corner of the

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

of Yukon. The National Park Reserve was set aside in 1972 to become a national park, pending settlement of First Nations land claims. It covered an area of . When agreement was reached with the

Champagne and Aishihik First Nations The Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN) is a First Nation band government in Yukon, Canada. Historically its original population centres were Champagne (home of the ''Kwächä̀l kwächʼǟn'' - "Champagne people/band") and Aishihik (home ...

over an eastern portion of the Reserve, that part—about —became a national park in 1993, and is a unit of the national park system administered co-operatively with Parks Canada. The larger western section remains a Reserve, awaiting a final land claim settlement with the

Kluane First Nation The Kluane First Nation (KFN) is a First Nations band government in Yukon, Canada. Its main centre is in Burwash Landing, Yukon along the Alaska Highway on the shores of Kluane Lake, the territory's largest lake. The native language spoken by the ...

. The park borders B.C. to the south, while the Reserve borders both B.C. to the south, and the United States (

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

) to the south and west. The Reserve includes the highest mountain in Canada,

Mount Logan Mount Logan () is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America after Denali. The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist and founder of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). Moun ...

() of the

Saint Elias Mountains The Saint Elias Mountains (french: Chaîne Saint-Élie) are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in southeastern Alaska in the United States, Southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia in Canada. The r ...

. Mountains and glaciers, including Donjek Glacier, dominate the park's landscape, covering 83% of its area. The rest of the land in the park is forest and tundra—east of the largest mountains and glaciers—where the climate is colder and drier than in the western and southern parts of the park. Trees grow only at the park's lowest elevations. The primary tree species are

white spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * ''Picea engelmannii ''Picea engelman ...

balsam poplar ''Populus balsamifera'', commonly called balsam poplar, bam, bamtree, eastern balsam-poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca, is a tree species in the balsam poplar species group in the poplar genus, ''Populus.'' The genus name ''Populu ...

and trembling aspen.

Activities

A day-use area with boat launch, picnic facilities and campground is located at Kathleen Lake, and is operated from mid-May to mid-September.

Hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histo ...

is a popular activity on trails such as St. Elias Lake, Mush Lake Road, Shorty Creek, Cottonwood, Rock Glacier, King's Throne, Kokanee, Auriol, Dezadeash River Trail, Alsek Trail, Sheep Creek Trail, Bullion Plateau Trail, Slims West or Soldiers Summit.

Rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

on the

Alsek River The Alsek River (; Tlingit ''Aalseix̱' '') is a wilderness river flowing from Yukon into Northern British Columbia and into Alaska. It enters the Gulf of Alaska at Dry Bay. Most of the Alsek River's basin is within protected wilderness areas and ...

Canadian Heritage river The Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS; french: Le réseau de rivières du patrimoine canadien) is a joint program administered by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to conserve and protect the best examples of Canada's river he ...

), mountain biking on old mining roads, horseback riding through the ''Alsek Pass'',

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

on Kathleen Lake and Mush Lake as well as fishing for

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...

Arctic grayling The Arctic grayling (''Thymallus arcticus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. ''T. arcticus'' is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper Misso ...

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

, northern pike and sockeye salmon are also among activities available in the park. The park was the subject of a short film in 2011's ''

National Parks Project The National Parks Project is a Canadian music and film project. Released in 2011 to mark the 100th anniversary of the creation of the National Parks of Canada system,Louise Archambault Louise Archambault is a Canadian film director and screenwriter.Adam Nayman"Louise Archambault" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', August 20, 2014. She is best known for her films '' Familia'', which won the Claude Jutra Award in 2005, and '' Gabriel ...

and scored by Graham Van Pelt,

Ian D'Sa Ian D'Sa is a Canadian guitarist and producer best known as a member of the rock band Billy Talent. Early life and career Ian was born in the suburb of Southall, London. He is of Goan background. His family moved to Canada when he was three ...

and Mishka Stein. In August 2013,

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954) is an American environmental lawyer and author known for promoting anti-vaccine propaganda and conspiracy theories. Kennedy is a son of U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew of President ...

visited the park to see Mount Kennedy, named as a memorial to his uncle, U. S. president

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

.Speakers' Spotlight – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Journeys To The Yukon To Visit Mount Kennedy
Speakers.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-27.

Fauna

Mammalian species that inhabit this park include

Yukon wolf The Interior Alaskan wolf (''Canis lupus pambasileus''), also known as the Yukon wolf, is a subspecies of gray wolf native to parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Interior Alaska and Yukon. Taxonomy It is recognized as a subsp ...

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nort ...

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological n ...

, mink,

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, O ...

, river otter,

caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subsp ...

, Yukon moose,

muskrat The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...

, snowshoe hare, marmot, red fox, Dall sheep,

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are ...

wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs an ...

, and

arctic ground squirrel The Arctic ground squirrel (''Urocitellus parryii'') (Inuktitut: ''ᓯᒃᓯᒃ, siksik'') is a species of ground squirrel native to the Arctic and Subarctic of North America and Asia. People in Alaska, particularly around the Aleutians, refer to ...

. This park contains about 120 species of birds, including the

rock ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in the UK. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊ� ...

and the golden and

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

World Heritage Site

The bi-national Kluane-Wrangell-St. Elias-Glacier Bay-Tatshenshini-Alsek park system comprising Kluane, Wrangell-St Elias,

Glacier Bay Glacier Bay Basin in southeastern Alaska, in the United States, encompasses the Glacier Bay and surrounding mountains and glaciers, which was first proclaimed a U.S. National Monument on February 25, 1925, and which was later, on December 2, 198 ...

and

Tatshenshini-Alsek Tatshenshini-Alsek Park or Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Wilderness Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada . It was established in 1993 after an intensive campaign by Canadian and American conservation organizations to halt mining e ...

parks, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 for the spectacular glacier and

icefield An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. They are often found in the colder climates and highe ...

landscapes as well as for the importance of

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

and Dall sheep habitat. In a 2009 census of the Kluane herd, there were 181 northern mountain caribou, a distinct ecotype of caribou.

First Nations presence

Kluane National Park lies within the traditional territories of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and

who have a long history of living in this region. Through their respective Final Agreements with the Canadian Government, they have made into law their rights to harvest in this region.

References

External links

Canada website for Kluane NP

World Heritage site

''Kluane'' — a National Film Board of Canada documentary

- Champagne and Aishihik First Nations

- Kluane First Nation
{{Authority control Saint Elias Mountains World Heritage Sites in Canada World Heritage Sites in the United States Parks in Yukon Protected areas established in 1972 National parks in Yukon 1972 establishments in Yukon