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 a ...

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

. The National Park Reserve was set aside in 1972 to become a national park, pending settlement of

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(

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 () 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 range ...

. Mountains and

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s, 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'', native to the ...

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 Kathleen Lake (native name : Mät'àtäna Mǟn meaning 'something frozen inside lake') is a lake in Yukon, Canada, located south of the town of Haines Junction within Kluane National Park and Reserve. Located at Haines Highway Kilometre 219.7. ...

, 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 Histor ...

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 (a

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 her ...

), mountain biking on old mining roads,

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

through the ''Alsek Pass'', boating on Kathleen Lake and Mush Lake as well as

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

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, rainbow trout, 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'', directed by Louise Archambault and scored by Graham Van Pelt, Ian D'Sa and Mishka Stein. In August 2013, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. visited the park to see Mount Kennedy, named as a memorial to his uncle, U. S. president John F. Kennedy.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 Interior Alaskan wolf, Yukon wolf, bear, coyote, American mink, mink, Canada lynx, lynx, North American river otter, river otter, boreal woodland caribou, caribou, Alaska moose, Yukon moose, muskrat, snowshoe hare, marmot, red fox, Dall sheep, North American beaver, beaver, wolverine, mountain goat, and arctic ground squirrel. This park contains about 120 species of birds, including the rock ptarmigan and the Golden eagle, golden and bald eagles.

World Heritage Site

The bi-national Kluane-Wrangell-St. Elias-Glacier Bay-Tatshenshini-Alsek park system comprising Kluane, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Wrangell-St Elias, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Glacier Bay and Tatshenshini-Alsek Park, Tatshenshini-Alsek parks, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 for the spectacular glacier and icefield landscapes as well as for the importance of grizzly bears, caribou 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 Kluane National Park and Reserve, 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