Rocky Mountains
It spans the North American continent and stretches for 4,800 kilometers
Mountains are towering and rivers crisscross
It is the densest place in North America
The most representative of these is the following
Located in the southern part of the mountain range in the United States
Yellowstone National Park
and those located in Canada in the northern part of the mountain range
Banff National Park
The two are one south and one north, with the same origin and the same origin
But in terms of their own characteristics
They also opened sects and opposed each other
One is fire and the other is ice
It can be called the Rocky Mountain ice and fire
(The picture below is a schematic map of the location of Rocky Mountain and Banff and Yellowstone, the map is from @Wikipedia, and the Planet Institute has added Chinese annotations)
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"Fire" is Yellowstone
Because its formation is closely related to volcanic activity
The entire Yellowstone park sits atop a supervolcano
The crater is about 85 km long and 45 km wide
The scale is rare in the world
If there is a violent eruption one day
It is highly likely to destroy the entire North American ecosystem
(The figure below is an estimate of the impact of the violent eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano on different ranges of the North American continent; The movie "2012" is set in the Yellowstone supervolcano eruption)
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Volcanic activity has made Yellowstone dangerous
But it also creates a unique landscape
It heats groundwater into steam
Accumulates in the formation
When the pressure is unstoppable
Steam and hot water will spray out
Geysers that form regular or irregular eruptions
The number of Yellowstone geysers exceeds 300
That's two-thirds of the world
(Pictured below is Old Faithful, Yellowstone's most famous geyser; The photo was taken at 1 a.m., the bright moon in the sky, the stars were dotted, the spring water suddenly gushed like white hair, and the American bison, which had long been accustomed to it, only cared about grazing and was not moved at all; Photographer@Brian B.)
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Volcanic activity also brings minerals to the springs
Algae and microorganisms can multiply in large numbers
The spring water changes according to different organisms and different seasons
It shows a variety of colors such as orange, yellow, blue, and green
The famous Grand Prismatic Spring
That's why it becomes colorful
(Looking at the great prism from the air is like a big eye looking straight at it; The deep blue color in the middle of the spring water has nothing to do with living things, here because of the high temperature and lack of algae and microorganisms, the mineral particles in the water scatter blue light, so it appears dark blue; Image courtesy of @ US National Park Service)
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It is 850 km west-north from Yellowstone
It is the embodiment of "ice"
Banff National Park
But under the brilliance of Yellowstone
The fame of the two is also two heavens of ice and fire
Yellowstone is famous and well-known
Banff as Canada's No. 1 National Park
Little is known about Chinese's field of vision
(Yellowstone and Banff were the first national parks in the United States and Canada; The figure below shows the Baidu Index of Huangshi and Banff-related words, which is a key indicator to measure the search popularity of Chinese netizens; Yellowstone's popularity is high, while Banff is simply not included because the popularity is too low)
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This is with Banf's unparalleled natural beauty
and the fact that geological monuments of great value are not commensurate
What is so remarkable about Banff as "ice"?
Is "fire" better than "ice"
Or is "ice" better than "fire"?
Ⅰ
2.6 million years ago
Winter has arrived
Global temperatures are starting to drop
The Quaternary ice age in geological history has arrived
Canada, whose latitude is higher than northeastern China, bears the brunt
Endless snow fell to the earth
(The Quaternary is the latest in the geological era, and today we are still in the Quaternary Ice Age, but not in its heyday; Banff National Park still receives an average of 2-3 meters of snow per year, and up to 7 meters in the mountains, and the picture below shows the winter cover of the North American continent on February 13, 2014, and the entire northern half of Canada and the United States has turned into the white world; Image courtesy of @NASA)
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Even if the sun is shining next summer
The snow still does not melt completely
So a new winter came, and the snow deepened again
And so on and so on year after year
The new snow with a loose structure turns into dense grain snow
The grains of snow recrystallize into firmer, granular ice
The granular ice is further pressurized and the air is exhausted
The result is a higher density of substances
Glacier Ice
(Schematic diagram of the formation of glacial ice, the entire ice formation process often takes years to decades, and even thousands of years in the North and South Poles; Annotated by the Planet Institute, based on Physical Geography, Higher Education Press)
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Layers of glacial ice are stacked
constitutes one of the most spectacular sights on earth
Glacier
The ice-making process that lasts millions of years
It was 20,000 years ago
The expansion of the glacier's power has finally reached its peak
The "fall" of all of Canada
Huge glaciers are like lids
Completely seal up the originally vibrant land
(This period we call the Last Glacial Maximum, when the land of northern North America was covered by two giant ice sheets, the Laurentide Ice Sheet and the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which are roughly bounded by the Continental Divide of the Americas.) Image from @haikudeck.com)
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The glacier is thousands of meters thick
There are only a few peaks in those large mountains
In order to show a small corner in the vast ice field
From the air, the view is like an isolated island in the ocean
Geographers call it
Icefield Island Peak (Nunatak)
(The peaks of the icefield islands can only be seen in a few areas such as present-day Greenland and Antarctica; Pictured below the West Antarctic Ice Sheet over the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, photographers were flying on NASA's IceBridge aircraft. The difference in snow cover on both sides of the mountain peak is caused by wind blowing, and these new snow are the source of material for the formation of glaciers in the future; Photographer @Mario Tama/NASA)
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Such a huge glacier size is comparable to Antarctica
Many relics have been left on Canadian soil
Banff National Park is one of the most emblematic
It covers an area of 6,641 square kilometers
Slightly smaller than Yellowstone National Park
But it is 9 times that of China's Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area
(Map of Banff National Park, the green line is the park boundary line, the red line running through the park is bounded by Lake Louise, and the north and south are Bow Valley Landscape Avenue and Icefield Avenue; Map from @Aude Vivere)
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The warm, moist air flow from the Pacific Ocean moves from west to east
In Banff, it is hampered by high mountains, resulting in abundant snowfall
The glaciers that have led to the development of this area are large and numerous
(Banff National Park mountains, photographed on a helicopter flight to Assiniboine, Mount Assiniboine; Photographer @A Liu)
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The area is more than 80 square kilometers
Wapta Icefield
Located on the western edge of Banff National Park
Surrounded by peaks, snow is like curd
(Ice sheets are land covered by glaciers that are huge but do not exceed 50,000 km²; Those larger than the ice sheet are called ice sheets; The picture below shows the Waputa Ice Field, opposite the peaks including Mount Collie, Mount Mummery, Ayesha Peakin; Photographer @Vern Dewit)
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Lyell Icefield
The surrounding mountains are even more fierce
Walking through it is like traveling through a foreign land
(Photographer@Steve Shannon)
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Columbia Icefield, north of Banff
It is the largest ice sheet in the Rocky Mountains
Its area is as high as 325 square kilometers
Approaching Puruogang Day, the largest ice field on China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
The thickness of the Columbia ice sheet reaches 365 meters
Put the 330-meter Beijing International Trade Tower Phase III into it
More than enough
(The picture below is the Columbia Ice Field, the climber is opposite Columbia Mountain, the second highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, 3747 meters above sea level, and the twin peaks on the right are South Twin and North Twin, please view the mobile phone horizontally; Photographer @Vern Dewit)
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The Columbia Icefield stretches out in all directions
Several large ice tongues develop
(Schematic diagram of the relationship between ice tongue and ice sheet, cartography@Planet Institute)
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The longest one is named
Saskatchewan Glacier
It is about 13 km long
Winding down from the mountains, it is magnificent
(The ice tongue is formed by the glacier extending along the surface or down the ice surface, like the tongue sticking out of the glacier, hence the name; Photographer @Callum Snape)
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Another ice tongue
Athabasca Glacier
It is the most accessible of the Colombian ice fields
(The glacier belongs to Jasper National Park north of Banff, photographer @Paul Zizka)
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Its thickness is more than 300 meters
The glacier is dotted with huge ice caves
Match the dazzling aurora
The sight is magnificent
(Photographer@Paul Zizka)
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Ⅱ
Glaciers are not static
Its essence is a flowing solid
It has the power of flooding far beyond rivers
It can easily erode mountains and move boulders
(Schematic diagram of glacier flow, mapping @ Planet Institute, original video is BBC "How do glaciers shape the landscape")
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A glacier of Banff's size
It will bring about earth-shaking changes
(Schematic map of glacier to topography and geomorphological transformation, please click to enlarge to view; Cartographic @Stephen Marshak, Planet Institute revised and added Chinese annotations)
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When the peaks of the mountains are wrapped in glaciers
(This mountain is the White Pyramid at an altitude of 3219 meters, and when the winter is full of ice and snow, the snow and ice from a distance look like a thick layer of cream; Watch out for climbers on the mountain; Photographer @Paul Zizka)
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After intense ablation
Originally gentle mountain
Or become sharp as a knife's edge
(Photographed on a helicopter flight to Assiniboine, a ridge usually formed by erosion by two separate glaciers on both sides of the ridge; Photographer @A Liu)
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Or like the spear of God
Pierce the sky at 90 degrees
(The mountaineer's mountain, Mount Fifi, 2,621 meters above sea level, and Mount Louis, 2,682 meters above sea level, disintegrated its fragile outer layers when eroded by glaciers, and the hardest core rock mass remained.) Photographer @Paul Zizka)
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Or drunken lying on the icefield
If the building will fall
(Saint Nicholas Peak at 2938 meters above sea level, watch out for the climbers below, photographer @Bill Kerr)
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Or boulders
Like the back of a stegosaurus
(Mount Ishbel, this mountain shape is because the rock layers of the mountain are mostly vertical, and they are eroded to form a messy jagged shape; Photographer @Paul Zizka)
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Or like a pencil head
A gift from heaven is like a big pen in the rafters
(Mount Lyell, 3,504 meters above sea level, a horned peak formed after glacial erosion; Photographer @Paul Zizka)
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The most special thing is the 3618 meters above sea level
Mount Assiniboine
As a horn peak formed after glacial erosion
It resembles the famous Matterhorn in the Alps
But Mount Assiniboine has a more standard pyramidal shape
Quite eye-catching
(Photographer @A Liu)
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In addition to reshaping the peaks
Glaciers also depict huge U-shaped valleys on the surface
(Dynamic diagram of glacial formation of U-shaped valleys; Cartography @Cecilia Bernal/Wikipedia)
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These valleys tend to be wide
It is an important passage for humans, animals and rivers
When we climbed to the top of the hill to overlook
It's hard to imagine that it was covered with glaciers 20,000 years ago
(Long picture warning, please view the mobile phone horizontally; This super feature film was shot at the top of Mount Sarbach at an altitude of 3,155 meters and encompasses at least 5 huge valleys; Photographer @Vern Dewit)
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The most famous is this
Bow Valley
It is more than 100 km long
It varies from 2-5 km wide
The town of Banff is located
(Aerial photo of Bow Valley, Banff Town below, photographer @Paul Zizka)
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Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)
Here follow the valley trend
A beautiful curve is drawn
(This section is called Morant's Curve and is now a popular photo spot; 1st photographer @Glenn Casey, 2nd photographer @David Swindler)
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Icefields Parkway
and Bow Valley Parkway
Walk north and south of the Bow Valley
The road can reach the mountains, and the mountains can reach the sky
(Icefield Avenue, near Lake Louise, photographer @ Wang Qian)
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Ⅲ
When the peak is reshaped and the valley is rebuilt
The huge glaciers that accumulated 20,000 years ago began to melt
Banff's most moving side was born
(Icy lake under Mount Gordon; In summer, glaciers melt and accumulate water into lakes in the low depressions of the ice surface; Four people on the ice field are a youth mountaineering team; Photographer @Don Wilson)
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Because the glacier is huge
The original glacier has melted to its present size
It can take up to 4,000 years
For 4,000 years, above the mountains and in the valleys
Various potholes eroded and accumulated by glaciers
They are injected into glacial meltwater
(Please view the glacial lake on Portal Peak Mountain horizontally, you can clearly see the process of glacial meltwater pouring into the glacial lake; The glacier is called Bow Glacier; Photographer @Vern Dewit)
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The Victoria Glacier is slowly descending
Formed the famous Lake Louise
(Photographer@Paul Zizka)
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Glaciers will be rocks in the mountain massif
Ground into fine rock flour
With meltwater into the lake
This gives the lake a light blue color like ice milk
(Canoeist on Lake Louise, photographed on the Big Beehive hiking trail, photographer@Yohan Dumortier)
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The northern part of Lake Louise is larger
Peyto Lake
The same goes for it
(Photographer@Jeff Clow)
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Different angles, different seasons
There is also a large color change
(Please view your phone in landscape orientation, photographer@César Asensio)
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Two Jack Lake at the end of Bow Valley
It is famous for its reflection in the water
It is on a branch of a large lake, so the water surface is unusually calm
The opposite side is composed of layered sedimentary rocks
Mount Rundle
One is a mirror made in heaven
One is the beautiful peak of the ground
(Photographer @ Zeng Yongqian)
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Or reflect skylight
(Photographer@Paul Zizka)
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Or reflect the stars
(Photographer@Paul Zizka)
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Banff National Park has numerous lakes
Others such as Moraine Lake
Vermillion Lakes
Herbert Lake
Bow Lake
Minnewanka Lake and more
It's also quite exciting
(The first is Menglian Lake, photographer@James Wheeler; The second and third pictures are of Cinnabar Lake, photographer @Paul Zizka)
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Ⅳ
Mountains, canyons, lakes
It's the glaciers that make everything in Banff
It is also glaciers that bring such extreme scenery to mankind
People ski, climb, hike, raft here
Or stay by the lake
(A rare angle of Lake Louise, below is the Chateau Hotel Lake Louise, built in 1911, photographer @Paul Zizka)
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Or in harmony with nature
(Melissa and Jackson Brandts were taking a remote selfie in Lake Minnebay when a golden-backed ground squirrel broke into the camera, and the photo went viral on the Internet in 2009, spreading more than 80 million times and becoming one of Banff National Park's iconic events.)
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now
Banff is nearing its end in shaping Banff
Global warming is accelerating the melting of glaciers in the Rocky Mountains
In 1985, Banff National Park had 365 glaciers
By 2005, 29 of them had disappeared
Scientists predict
If you follow the current emission trend
As early as 2100
The remaining 300-odd will also disappear
(Colombian ice sheet melting forecast, click to enlarge; Published by a research team at the University of British Columbia, cartographic@Garry Clarke)
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Banff of Ice is disappearing
The Yellowstone of Fire is still brewing for the next outbreak
Will the future world be ice annealing wins?