Mount Robson

3954m (12973ft.) Located in the Fraser River Valley east of the Robson River; 4 km south of Berg Lake. Mount Robson Park, Major headwater Fraser River. "Mount Robson is not only the highest mountain in the Canadian Rocky Mountains but one of the great mountains of the world, and deserving of inclusion in any select list on account of many striking characteristics and a form, beauty, and grandeur transcending any other of the greater peaks of the Rockies& The mountain is unique, and its massive precipices, seamed with different-coloured rock strata, enhance it in both beauty and stature." These words were written by Frank Smythe, an English mountaineer who wrote dozens of books about the mountains of the world during the first half of the twentieth century and was widely regarded as an authority on the subject.

Ramparts This range lies to the west of Amethyst Lakes and the Tonquin Valley. It forms a portion of the Continental Divide. In his book, "The Glittering Mountains of Canada," J. Monroe Thorington wrote, "The surveyors who christened the Ramparts thought of it as a castellated range and bestowed upon the peaks the medieval names suggested by their counterparts -Turret, Bastion, Redoubt, Dungeon, Postern, and Casemate. But the crest is so sinuous and angulated that, as we looked toward it from across the valley floor, we felt that the analogy to the spiny remains of a petrified dinosaur or some similar creature was an equally good one. Certainly there were never any man-built castles in Jasper Park; but did we not know from the Indian stories that it had always been the abode of dragons?"

This image was taken from our screensaver, sorry there is no poster of this image. There is a poster of Maligne Lake Jasper National Park taken with the classic view of Spirit Island in the foreground (see image #6 on the next thumbnail panel). This image and others that are not on posters, are available on our Screensaver CD.

Marmot Basin Located in the breathtaking, vast and ruggedly mountainous landscape of Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Marmot Basin is a ski destination that inspires lasting memories. The national park boasts deep valleys that are home to an incredible diversity of wildlife, waterfalls and lakes frozen in time, carpets of thick, green forests blanketing the earth and the serene beauty of the snowcapped peaks carries on as far as the eye can see. One of these peaks is host to the 1,675 acres of superb slopes that make up Marmot Basin. Only 20 minutes from the town of Jasper, Marmot Basin offers 3,000 vertical feet of superb skiing and snowboarding.

The Snow Dome, Columbia Icefields The Columbia Icefield is the largest accumulation of ice south of the arctic circle. Straddling the boundaries of Banff and Jasper National Parks, as well as the continental divide and the boundary between Alberta and British Columbia, the location is very unique. The icefield is made up of approximately 325 square kilometres (130 sq mi) of glacial ice that reaches a maximum depth of 365 m (1,200 ft). The average snowfall on the Columbia Icefield is 7 m (23 feet) per year, with an average elevation of 3000 m (10,000 ft). The highest point on the Icefield is Mount Columbia at 3745 m (12,284 ft). Six large outlet valley glaciers flow from this main body of ice. They are the Athabasca, Saskatchewan, Dome, Columbia, Castleguard and Stutfield Glaciers. The Columbia Icefield also represents the only three-way continental divide in North America. From the summit of Mount Snow Dome, waters flow to three separate oceans, the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Arctic. The only other similar divide is in northern Siberia. Scientists call this the "hydrographic apex of North America", quite simply the centre of the universe as far as all the water in North America is concerned.

Spirit Island, Maligne Lake The shadows of vast, snowcapped peaks cast themselves brilliantly over a glacial blue sea deep in the interior of Jasper National Park . Maligne Lake, along with pristine natural beauty Spirit Island, is not only the oldest attraction in Jasper Park but also the largest lake in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Athabasca Glacier The Athabasca is the most-visited glacier on the North American continent. Situated across from the Columbia Icefield Centre, its ice is in continuous motion, creeping forward at the rate of several centimeters per day. Spilling from the Columbia Icefield over three giant bedrock steps, the glacier flows down the valley like a frozen, slow-moving river. Because of a warming climate, the Athabasca Glacier has been receding or melting for the last 125 years. Losing half its volume and retreating more than 1.5 kms, the shrinking glacier has left a moonscape of rocky moraines in its wake.