Canadian Rockies: Mount Robson Provincial Park

Mount Robson Provincial Park is adjacent to Jasper National Park on the west side.With Hamber Provincial Park the three parks are included in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the second oldest park in the British Columbia parks system. Its name comes from the highest mountain in the Canadiam Rockies. At the park's western entrance, Mount Robson, 3954m (12,972') high, towers above all other peaks near it. The Texqakalit indigenous people named the mountain Yexexe'scen, meaning "mountain of the spiral road", referring to the grooved lines on the mountain's face.

Established in 1913, the park protects 225,285 hectares (556,691acres) of land surrounding the mountain, including the headwaters of the Fraser River.

Yellowhead Pass, elevation 3711', at the Continental Divide, is the boundary between Alberta and British Columbia and between Japer National Park and Mount Robson Provincial Park.

There are only two waterfalls on the 1375km (854 mi) Fraser River, Overlander Falls and Rearguard Falls, a few km downstream.

Overlander Falls on the Fraser River was named for the Overlander Expediton of 1862. a group of about 150 settlers, including one woman, who traveled from Fort Garry (now Winnipeg, Manitoba), to the interior of British Columbia for the Cariboo Gold Rush.

Rearguard Falls, on the Fraser River in Rearguard Falls Provincial Park, is the furthest point accessible to spawning Pacific salmon, some 800 miles from the ocean, near the river's confluence with the Columbia River. Only Chinook, the largest of the Pacific Salmon, make it this far. This is a popular white-water rafting site.

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Last modified 19 August 2023