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Glacier National Park
Fact Sheet

History

  • Established as a park on May 11, 1910.
  • Established as Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in 1932.
  • Going- to- the-Sun Road completed in 1932.
  • Established as an International Biosphere Reserve, 1974.
  • Waterton Lakes National Park established in 1895.
  • Established as Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park World Heritage Site, 1995.

Water

  • Number of named lakes: 131
  • Number of unnamed lakes: 631
  • Total number of lakes: 762
  • Acres of named lakes: 25,622
  • Largest lake: Lake McDonald (9.4 miles long; 1.5 miles wide; 464 feet deep; 6,823 acres)
  • Number of streams: 563
  • Total length of intermittent streams: 1307 miles
  • Total lenght of perennial streams: 1514 miles
  • Total miles of streams inside the park: 2,865 miles
  • Longest stream: Upper McDonald Creek (25.8 miles)

Land

  • Acreage: 1,013,594 acres...500+ in private ownership
  • Square miles: 1,583
  • Miles of exterior boundary: 205
  • Shared with Waterton National Park: 21 miles
  • Shared with British Columbia: 31 miles
  • Shared with U.S. Forest Service: 130 miles
  • Acres of defacto wilderness: 963,155...or 1,489.3 sq. miles
  • Acreage in Hudson Bay District:
    • Belly River: 162,766
    • Many Glacier: 211,610
    • St. Mary: 94,463
    • Two Medicine: 72,320
  • Areage in West Lakes District:
    • North Fork: 240,234
    • Lake McDonald: 178,890
    • Walton: 195,612
  • Elevation at Logan Pass: 6,646 feet
  • Number of mountains: 175
  • Highest mountain: 10,448 ft...Mt. Cleveland
  • Number of glaciers: 25 named; all shrinking in size
  • Largest glacier: Blackfoot Glacier - .7 sq. miles

Facilities

  • Number Class A campgrounds: 8, with 943 sites
  • Number Class B campgrounds: 5, with 61 sites
  • Number of trails: 151; total length - 745.6 miles
  • Miles of Continental Divide Trail in Glacier: 110
  • Wheelchair accessible walkways and corduroy
    • Trail of the Cedars (.3 mile...1,584 feet)
    • Logan Pass Boardwalk (2,300 feet)
    • Oberlin Bend Overlook
    • Running Eagle Nature Trail
  • Number backcountry campgrounds: 65, with 208 sites
  • Miles paved bicycle path: 2 miles...Apgar to West Glacier/HQ
  • Number designated picnic areas: 8...with 175 sites
  • Number of (‘snowshoe’) patrol cabins: 30
  • Number of visitor contact stations: 4
  • Number of boat access points: 6

Plants and Animals

  • Number of fish species : 24...18 native and 7 non-native (Lake trout are native in the Hudson Bay drainage, but are non-native west of the Divide. They are listed on both the native and non-native lists.)
  • Number of species of animals: 68...from mice to moose
  • Number of species of birds: 277 documented
  • Number of species of plants: 1,132 vascular and 858 non-vascular
 



Visitation

10-Year
Increments
Increase
Decrease
Annual
Visitation
Increase
Decrease

 

Visitation 1911
4000
Visitation 2000
1,728,693
+3 %
Visitation 1920
22,449
+461%

Visitation 2001
1,680,614

 

-3 %
Visitation 1930
73,776
+229 %

Visitation 2002
1,905,689

 

+13 %
Visitation 1940
177,307
+140 % Visitation 2003
1,664,046
Big Fire Season
-13 %
Visitation 1950
482,298
+174 % Visitation 2004
2,033,933
+22 %
Visitation 1960
724,500
+ 49 % Visitation 2005
1,925,101
-5 %
Visitation 1970
1,241,600
+ 71 % Visitation 2006
1,964,399
+2 %
Visitation 1980
1,474,578
+ 19 %

Visitation 2007
2,083,329

+6 %
Visitation 1990
1,986,737

+ 35 %

 

Visitation 2000
1,728,693
+ 3 %

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Grizzly bears

Did You Know?
Grizzly bears in the park have a wide variety of food sources, including glacier lily bulbs, insects, and berries. They may also make an early season meal of mountain goats that were swept down in avalanches over the winter.

Last Updated: August 23, 2010 at 13:41 MST