The Purcell Wilderness Conservancy (full name Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park and Protected Area) is a

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It was established in 1974, and encompasses six large drainages in the

Purcell Mountains The Purcell Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which includes the Selkirk, Monashee, and Cariboo Mountains. They are located on the west side of the Rocky Mounta ...

in the southeast of the province. It contains high peaks, alpine meadows and ridges, deep creek and river valleys, and hot springs at Dewar Creek.

History

The northern part of the park covers an important historical trade and transportation route used by

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

people for centuries, linking the

Rocky Mountain Trench The Rocky Mountain Trench, also known as the Valley of a Thousand Peaks or simply the Trench, is a large valley on the western side of the northern part of North America's Rocky Mountains. The Trench is both visually and cartographically a s ...

and

Kootenay Lake Kootenay Lake is a lake located in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Kootenay River. The lake has been raised by the Corra Linn Dam and has a dike system at the southern end, which, along with industry in the 1950s–70s, has changed th ...

via Toby Pass.

Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey, (28 November 185129 August 1917) was a British peer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada 1904–1911, the ninth since Canadian Confederation. He was a radical Liberal aristocrat and a ...

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

, traveled the trail in 1908, after which it was named in his honour. Grey was impressed by the area and built a cabin on Toby Creek. He also approached Premier

Richard McBride Sir Richard McBride, (December 15, 1870 – August 6, 1917) was a British Columbia politician and is often considered the founder of the British Columbia Conservative Party. McBride was first elected to the provincial legislature in the 1898 e ...

about protecting the area within a park, but the plans did not come about. The region saw periods of mining activity, including the Argenta Mine near Hamill Peak. It operated for only one year in 1904 and 1905. Some of the equipment is still found inside the park. By the 1960s,

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

had reached further into the Purcells. Area residents, outdoor clubs, and conservation groups lobbied the Provincial and Federal Governments for a park in the region. In 1974, the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy (PWC) was established, protecting . The St. Mary's Alpine Provincial Park, adjacent to the southern boundary of the PWC, was established in the same year. The PWC was one of the first areas in Canada conserved because of citizen activism. In 1995, the PWC expanded to its current size and was named a Class A Provincial Park by the government.

Geography

The Purcell Wilderness Conservancy covers the central region of the southern half of the Purcell Range in the south east of the province, often referred to as the

Kootenays The Kootenays or Kootenay ( ) is a region of southeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people. Boundaries The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootenay ...

. The nearest settlements are Argenta, to the west, and

Invermere Invermere is a community in eastern British Columbia, Canada, near the border of Alberta. It is the hub of the Columbia Valley between Golden to the north and Cranbrook to the south. Invermere sits on the northwest shore of Windermere Lake and ...

to the east. The park encompasses several large drainages in their entirety, and contains the headwaters of several other large streams and rivers. On the western side of the park, Hamill, Fry, and Carney Creeks flow into Kootenay Lake and the

Kootenay River The Kootenay or Kootenai river is a major river in the Northwest Plateau, in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northern Montana and Idaho in the United States. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, the l ...

system. On the eastern side, Toby, Dutch, and Finlay Creeks flow into the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

. St. Mary's River and Skookumchuck Creek flow from the south of the park, also into the Kootenay drainage. The mountainous park has many peaks and glaciers. The tallest peaks are Mount Hamill (), Mount Toby (), and Mount Truce () in the north, and Mount Findlay (), near the centre of the park. The Toby Glacier () is in the north of the park, and forms the headwaters for Toby Creek.

Geology

The PWC region is composed of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rock, and contains some of the oldest rock in the province. Fossils can be found within the park. The oldest rock layer is from the

Proterozoic The Proterozoic () is a geological eon spanning the time interval from 2500 to 538.8million years ago. It is the most recent part of the Precambrian "supereon". It is also the longest eon of the Earth's geologic time scale, and it is subdivided ...

period; this is interspersed with granitic intrusions, or

batholith A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate rock types, such ...

s, similar to the Bugaboos to the north. Some of the high peaks are a mix of granite or quartzite; these features are usually more massive and rounded. Other peaks are more pointed and abrupt, these are formed from slate rock. Much of the park shows the effects of glaciation. Hot springs are also present alongside Dewar Creek in the south of the park.

Flora and fauna

The PWC contains five of British Columbia's biogeoclimatic zones. The wetter western portion of the park has Interior Cedar—Hemlock forests, while the drier eastern valleys feature both Ponderosa Pine and Interior Douglas-fir. The higher slopes are dominated by Engelmann Spruce—Subalpine Fir, which give way to the Alpine Tundra biome at the highest altitudes that support life. Many large mammals are present in the park, including grizzly and black bears, mule and whitetail deer, moose, mountain caribou, and mountain goats. Biologists have identified 90 bird species within the park. The streams and rivers support Dolly Varden, rainbow and cutthroat trout, and mountain whitefish.

Conservation

The PWC is preserved in its natural state; there are no roads or facilities beyond rough campgrounds within the park. Mechanized access, including helicopters, is prohibited. It is considered the largest intact ecosystem in southeastern B.C.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park And Protected Area Provincial parks of British Columbia Regional District of Central Kootenay Parks in the Regional District of East Kootenay Kootenays Purcell Mountains 1974 establishments in British Columbia Protected areas established in 1974