Waterton Glacier International Peace Park

　　   Waterton National Park spans 526 square kilometers, and Glacier National Park covers 4,051 square kilometers. The Lewis Range runs through both, featuring many classic glacial lakes and stunning alpine scenery, as well as abundant flora and fauna. The mountains in the park mostly exceed 10,000 feet in elevation, including nearly 50 glaciers, numerous lakes, and streams.

　　   Following a proposal by Alberta (a province in western Canada) and Montana in 1931, Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park and Montana’s Glacier National Park were combined to form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

　　   This was done not only to promote friendship between the two countries and share the benefits that would arise, but also to emphasize the international nature of pristine environments and the necessary cooperation required to protect them.

　　   The area boasts a diverse range of animal and plant species, with many large mammalian carnivores such as wolves, bears, and cougars naturally reproducing here. Waterton National Park is the only place within the contiguous United States where wolves, bears, and cougars naturally thrive. The park is home to a wealth of wildflowers and wildlife, including mountain goats and vultures. It has been designated as a biosphere reserve due to being a prime example of a geological process, encompassing extraordinary natural phenomena and rich in both information and scenic beauty.

　　   Waterton National Park has been inscribed on the World Heritage List. The Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park lies in the narrowest part of the Rocky Mountains, straddling the U.S.-Canada border. To demonstrate the belief that natural resources know no borders, no boundary line has been drawn between the two countries in this region. The natural ecosystems of these two national parks are worthy of careful preservation, featuring high mountains and deep valleys, forested belts and grasslands, as well as glacial trough rivers and lakes that feed into three oceans.

　　   In fact, it is quite rare for such a diverse range of ecological environments to be concentrated in one area. Moreover, the rapid elevation change from flat prairie lands to the Rocky Mountains makes this national park a place where “mountains meet the prairie.” The distribution of wildlife here corresponds to the variation in geography, with mountain goats, bighorn sheep, mountain sheep, coyotes, grizzly bears, black bears, over twenty species of birds, and the famous “international” elk population. These elk migrate annually, spending summers in the mountainous areas of Glacier National Park and returning to the prairies of Waterton in winter. Indigenous peoples have lived in this region for 12,000 years, and the national park still preserves reserves that hold significance for the earliest nations to inhabit the area.

　　   In fact, the International Peace Park has become a park shared by three peoples: Canada, the United States, and the Blackfoot Confederacy.