The Canadian Encyclopedia

Showing All of 150 results for "Parks & Historic Sites"

Round 3: How do you get from...

The game is six degrees of Canadian history. Take two seemingly unrelated pieces of Canadian culture and connect the dots through various people, places and events to discover how they’re distantly — or maybe not so distantly — related. Along the way we visit the quizzical and curious, the tragic and comic, and everything in between.

exhibit

Round 6: How do you get from...

The game is six degrees of Canadian history. Take two seemingly unrelated pieces of Canadian culture and connect the dots through various people, places and events to discover how they’re distantly — or maybe not-so-distantly — related. Along the way, we visit the quizzical and curious, the tragic and comic, and everything in between.

collection

Archaeological Sites

Archaeology is a historical science aimed at the discovery and understanding of past human behaviour through the study of material remains. Archaeologists draw the bulk of their information from physical artifacts left at locations where people lived, worked, visited and were buried long ago. The Canadian Encyclopedia features articles on many of the country’s archaeological sites, organized here by the provinces and territories in which they are found.

				
					Writing-On-Stone Provincial ParkOver 100 species of birds have been noted. Golden eagles, Canada geese and prairie falcons nest on cliff ledges.

					Prince of Wales FortPrince of Wales Fort is an 18th-century fortification built by the Hudson’s Bay Company at the mouth of the Churchill River, in what is now Manitoba. Today, it is a national historic site managed by Parks Canada.

					L’Anse aux MeadowsL’Anse aux Meadows is the site of an 11th-century Norse outpost at the tip of Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula. Arguably the location of Straumfjord of the Vinland sagas, it is believed to be the first European settlement in North America. L’Anse aux Meadows was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1968 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. Today, it is the site of a popular interpretive centre and ongoing archeological research.

					StirlingStirling, Alberta, incorporated in 1901, population 978 (2016 census), 1,090 (2011 census), area 2.71 km2. The Village of Stirling is located in the County of Warner, approximately 30 km southeast of Lethbridge on Highway 4 and 70 km north of the United States border. Stirling is significant as a national historic site and is Canada’s best-preserved example of a Mormon agricultural village.

					Gwaii HaanasAt 1,470 km2, Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site (also known as Gwaii Haanas) encompasses 15 per cent of Haida Gwaii.

					Vuntut National ParkA 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).

					Torngat Mountains National Park of CanadaTorngat Mountains National Park (established in 2008) encompasses 9700 km2 of Labrador north of Saglek Fiord. Torngat - in Inuktitut, Torngait - refers to one of the most powerful of Inuit spirits believed to dwell in these mountains.

					Tuktut Nogait National ParkTuktut Nogait National Park (established in 1998, 18 181 km2) was created through the efforts of the Inuit of Paulatuk, NWT.

					Waterton Lakes National ParkWaterton Lakes National Park (established 1895, 505 km2) is situated in the southwestern corner of Alberta on the Canada-US border. In 1932, this park was united with Montana's Glacier National Park to create the world's first international peace park.

					Yoho National ParkIn the high alpine meadows there are pika, marmot and grizzly bear. Moose, wolverine, marten and elk live lower down in subalpine forests.

					Kluane National Park and ReserveKluane National Park and Reserve (est 1972, 22 013.3 km2) is an area of unclimbed peaks, vast ice fields, clear lakes, glaciers and spectacular wildlife.

					Riding Mountain National ParkNatural History The park is a rolling landscape of mixed forests and grasslands dotted with lakes, streams and bogs, an "island" of green rising out of a sea of farmland.

					Pukaskwa National ParkPukaskwa National Park (designated 1978, 1877.8 km2) is bracketed on the west by the coastline of Lake Superior, an impressive stretch of massive headlands and beaches of golden sand or water-worn cobble. The name is of native origin but its meaning is unclear.

					Terra Nova National ParkTerra Nova National Park (est 1957, 399.9 km2), Canada's most easterly national park, is located on Bonavista Bay, Nfld. Terra Nova is the Latin form of the name of the island, Newfoundland.

					Thousand Islands National Park (formerly St Lawrence Islands National Park)Natural History Most of the park islands are the summits of ancient hills of the Frontenac Axis, a strip of Precambrian granite connecting the Canadian Shield with the Adirondack Mountains in New York State.

					Saguenay-St Lawrence Marine ParkAt the confluence of Fjord du Saguenay and the St Lawrence River estuary is Saguenay-St Lawrence Marine Park (established in 1998, 1138 km2). In 1990 the federal and Québec governments agreed to establish the marine park and that it is to be co-managed by the federal and provincial governments.

					Ukkusiksalik National ParkUkkusiksalik National Park, Nunavut, size 20 500 km2, established in 2003, is located on the northwest side of Hudson Bay.

					Sirmilik National ParkLocated on northern Baffin Island in Canada's High Arctic, Sirmilik National Park (agreement signed 1999; 22 250 km2) is one of Canada's isolated and most spectacular national parks. Sirmilik is an Inuktitut word that means "place of glaciers."

					Wapusk National ParkWapusk National Park (11 475.0 km2) became part of Canada's national parks system on 24 April 1996 when a federal-provincial agreement was signed providing for its establishment.

					Wood Buffalo National ParkWood Buffalo National Park (established in 1922, 44 802 km2) was established to protect the last herd of wood bison. Canada's largest national park straddles the Alberta/NWT border. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983.

					Mingan Archipelago National Park ReserveOddly shaped rock pillars sculpted by wind and sea create the unique islandscape of Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve (set aside 1984, 150.7 km2). The park will retain its reserve status until the resolution of the comprehensive land claims of the Innu.

					Mount Revelstoke National ParkMount Revelstoke is generally acknowledged as the birthplace of alpine skiing in Canada, and it was established, in part, because of its recreational potential. Today cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are popular winter activities. The park offers primitive backcountry campsites.

					Kootenay National ParkKootenay National Park (established 1920, 1406.4 km2) is located on the west slope of the Continental Divide. The park, stretching north and south for 104 km, is bounded on the east by Banff and Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park on the north by Yoho National Park.

					Point Pelee National ParkPoint Pelee National Park (est 1918, 15 km2) is located at the tip of Point Pelee, a long peninsula jutting abruptly into Lake Erie near Leamington, Ont, the southernmost tip of Canada's mainland.

					Prince Albert National ParkNatural Heritage Bounded to the south by farmland, the park lies on a transition zone between 2 ecoregions. Pockets of aspen parkland and fescue prairie in the south of the park blend with mixed-wood and boreal forests in the park's northern reaches.