
Sunwapta Falls is a pair of
waterfall
A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge
of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...
s of the
Sunwapta River
The Sunwapta River is a major tributary of the Athabasca River in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada.
Course
The headwaters of the Sunwapta River are near the Columbia Icefield in the valley west-northwest of Sunwapta Pass, which divides Ja ...
in
Jasper National Park
Jasper National Park, in Alberta, Canada, is the largest national park within Alberta's Rocky Mountains, spanning . It was established as Jasper Forest Park in 1907, renamed as a national park in 1930, and declared a UNESCO world heritage site ...
, Alberta, Canada.
The falls are accessible via a access road off the
Icefields Parkway
Highway 93 is a north–south highway in Alberta, Canada. It is also known as the Banff-Windermere Parkway south of the Trans-Canada Highway ( Highway 1) and the Icefields Parkway north of the Trans-Canada Highway. It travels through Banff Nat ...
, which connects Jasper and
Banff National Park
Banff National Park is Canada, Canada's first National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous ter ...
s. The falls have a drop of about . ''Sunwapta'' is a
Stoney language
Stoney—also called Nakota, Nakoda, Isga, and formerly Alberta Assiniboine—is a member of the Dakota subgroup of the Mississippi Valley grouping of the Siouan languages. The Dakotan languages constitute a dialect continuum consisting of Sante ...
word that means "turbulent water". The falls is most spectacular in the late spring when the spring melt is at its peak.
There are two falls, a lower and an upper one. The one most people see is the upper falls, as access is easier. The lower falls are a short distance away. The water originates from the
Athabasca Glacier
The Athabasca Glacier is one of the six principal Glacier terminus, 'toes' of the Columbia Icefield, located in the Canadian Rockies. The glacier currently loses depth at a rate of about per year and has Retreat of glaciers since 1850, receded ...
, and volumes are higher in early summer because of glacial melting. It is a Class 6 waterfall, with a drop of and a width of .
See also
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List of waterfalls
This list of notable waterfalls of the world is sorted by continent, then country, then province, state or territory. A waterfall is included if it is at least tall and has an existing Wikipedia article, or it is considered historically sig ...
*
List of waterfalls of Canada
The following list of waterfalls of Canada include all waterfalls of superlative significance.
Tallest waterfalls
By overall height
, there are 18 confirmed waterfalls with an overall height of at least .
By tallest single drop
, there are 14 ...
*
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies () or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...
*
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
*
Wildlife of Canada
The wildlife of Canada or biodiversity of Canada consist of over 80,000 classified species, and an equal number thought yet to be recognized. Known Fauna of Canada, fauna and Flora of Canada, flora have been identified from five kingdoms: protozo ...
References
External links
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Waterfalls of Alberta
Jasper National Park
{{Alberta-geo-stub