Vuntut National Park

A portion of the OLD CROW PLAIN (locally called the Old Crow Flats) was set aside, through the settlement of the Vuntut Gwitchin comprehensive land claim in 1993, for Vuntut National Park (established 1995, 4345 km²). The park is bound to the north by IVVAVIK NATIONAL PARK and to the west by Alaska. Access to Vuntut National Park is by charter aircraft from the village of OLD CROW, which only has year-round scheduled air service, or by a long canoe journey.

Natural History

The Old Crow Flats is a plain rimmed to the north by hills and mountains. Thousands of lakes dot the landscape, a water-maze of peat BOG. These wetlands are a designated Ramsar Site (1982), ie, a wetland of global significance, and support hundreds of thousands of waterfowl during the short summer, for breeding, moulting and staging. In addition to waterfowl, the area also supports vast numbers of muskrat.

The Vuntut Gwitchin depend on the Porcupine caribou herd for their culture and livelihood. This large herd migrates over a vast area of northern Yukon and Alaska. Caribou migration routes and part of the herd's calving grounds are protected in Canada by Vuntut and Ivvavik national parks.

Other Treasures

The area escaped glaciation in the Pleistocene so it has a rich and varied palaeontological and archaeological record stretching back nearly 40 000 years. The undisturbed fossil beds, one of Canada's most important sources of VERTEBRATE fossils, offer a rare opportunity to look at climatic and environmental changes between the glacial epochs of the Pleistocene and modern times. Artifacts show evidence of very early human habitation (see also OLD CROW BASIN).

The Vuntut Information and Operations Centre highlights the natural and cultural treasures to be found in Vuntut National Park and elsewhere in Vuntut Gwitchin traditional territory.

Author MAXWELL W. FINKELSTEIN

Links to Other Sites
Old Crow: Land of the Vuntut Gwitch'in
An informative site about the geography, history, and culture of the Gwitch'in community of Old Crow. Also focuses on the historical relationship between the Gwitch'in people and the Porcupine caribou. Features great images, including one of a caribou fence and some that show caribou crossing the river. From Canada’s Digital Collections.

Old Crow
The Official Website of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN) in Old Crow, Yukon. Learn about their colourful history and culture, local environmental issues and more. Be sure to check out their traditional recipes, crafts, and audio clips.

Vuntut National Park of Canada
This illustrated Parks Canada website describes the ecology, geography, and history of Vuntut National Park of Canada.