Banff National Park Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alberta

Banff National Park is located in the Canadian province of Alberta. Alberta is located in the region known as Western Canada and is also one of the three prairie provinces. Banff National Park is found in the west of Alberta in the Rocky Mountains.

Answer: 1885

Banff National Park was first established as a small reserve of ten square miles called the Banff Hot Springs Reserve in 1885. The park was then expanded to 260 square miles in 1887 following the enactment of the Rocky Mountains Park Act and took the name Rocky Mountains Park.

There were further changes to the size of park in the early 20th century until the National Parks Act of 1930 set the area of the park as 2586 square miles and renamed it Banff National Park after the town of Banff that had developed around the Canadian Pacific Railway Station of the same name and was located within the park.

Answer: Trans-Canada Highway

The Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) stretches 4860 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and travels through all ten Canadian provinces. The route is marked with white on green markers with the highway number in a white maple leaf with the phrase 'Trans Canada' ('Trans Canadienne' in Quebec) at the top.

The TCH has posed a problem for wildlife in the park due to animals being killed or injured in collisions with vehicles and the highway causing problems for migrating animals. A series of wildlife crossings featuring overpasses and underpasses along with fencing has helped to mitigate this problem in recent times.

Answer: Yoho National Park

Yoho, Kootenay and Jasper National Parks border Banff National Park. Yoho is the smallest of these parks at 507 square miles in area. The name Yoho is an expression used by the Cree for expressing awe. Kootenay National Park also borders Banff National Park to the west while Jasper National Park borders it to the north.

The three other parks listed as answers to this question can be found elsewhere in Canada.

Answer: Mount Forbes

Mount Forbes is the highest peak located entirely within Banff National Park and is 11,850 ft tall. Mount Assiniboine, at 11,870 ft tall, is higher but part of this peak is located in the bordering Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. Mount Forbes is the seventh tallest mountain in the Canadian Rockies.

It was named in 1859 by the Scottish geologist and naturalist James Hector who chose the name of Mount Forbes after Edward Forbes, a natural history professor at the University of Edinburgh who had taught Hector.

Answer: Columbia Icefield

The Columbia Icefield is located on the border of Banff and Jasper National Parks. It is 125 square miles in area and sees up to 280 inches of snowfall each year. The northern part of Alberta Highway 93 is called the Icefield Parkway as it runs close to the Columbia Icefield.

Answer: Valley of the Ten Peaks

Moraine Lake is located in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, a valley in Banff National Park. The lake is fed from a glacier and, when full, appears to be azure blue in colour. The colour of the lake is caused by light refracting off glacial deposits of tiny pieces of rock known as rock flour.

Answer: True

Lake Louise is the name of both a lake and a small hamlet within Banff National Park although the hamlet is 1.9 miles northeast of the lake. Both are named after Queen Victoria's fourth daughter, Princess Louise. The hotel Chateau Lake Louise sits on the eastern shore of the lake and was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway around the start of the 20th century.

The hamlet of Lake Louise is situated near the Lake Louise Mountain Resort, a ski area located within Banff National Park.

Answer: Cave and Basin National Historic Site

The Cave and Basin National Historic Site is located on Sulphur Mountain in the town of Banff within Banff National Park. It is one of three groups of hot springs located on the mountain. The site was brought to prominence when three Canadian Pacific Railway workers found the cave and springs in 1883.

The site originally featured pools heated by the hot springs but these were closed in 1992 and the buildings are now used to show information about the site. The Cave and Basin was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1981.

Answer: Bow River

The Bow River flows through the town of Banff located in the Bow Valley in Banff National Park. Bow River starts from the Bow Glacier in the Canadian Rockies before flowing southwards through Banff National Park and the town of the same name. After flowing through the city of Calgary the Bow River combines with the Oldman River and becomes the South Saskatchewan River.

A major waterfall called the Bow Falls are located just outside the town of Banff.