Tombstone Territorial Park
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Tombstone Territorial Park is a
territorial 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 ...
in the
Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
, one of three territories in
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 is in central Yukon, near the southern end of the
Dempster Highway The Dempster Highway, also referred to as Yukon Highway 5 and Northwest Territories Highway 8, is a highway in Canada that connects the Klondike Highway in Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories on the Mackenzie River delta. The highway crosses ...
, stretching from the 50.5 to the 115.0 kilometre marker. The park protects over 2100 square kilometres of rugged peaks, permafrost landforms and wildlife, including sections of the Blackstone Uplands and the
Ogilvie Mountains The Ogilvie Mountains are a mountain range in the Yukon Territory of northwestern Canada. Geologically they are part of the Yukon Ranges, in the upper Laramide Belt of the North American Cordillera. Geography The range lies north of Dawson Ci ...
. The Park is named for Tombstone Mountain's resemblance to a grave marker. The area is geologically unique and ecologically diverse. It is bisected by the divide separating waters flowing into the
Yukon River The Yukon River (Gwichʼin language, Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Central Alaskan Yup'ik language, Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq language, Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag language, Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän language, Hän: ''Tth'echù' ...
and eventually the
Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...
from those flowing into the Mackenzie River and eventually the
Beaufort Sea The Beaufort Sea (; french: Mer de Beaufort, Iñupiaq: ''Taġiuq'') is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Alaska, and west of Canada's Arctic islands. The sea is named after Sir Fr ...
. The divide is part of an
igneous Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...
belt of
granitic A granitoid is a generic term for a diverse category of coarse-grained igneous rocks that consist predominantly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quart ...
and syenitic rock, known as the
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
Tombstone Suite, that stretches from
Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...
, to the Ross River. Multiple
glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
s intruded into the region from the east, separating it from areas to the north and west, known as
Beringia Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip ...
, that were not glaciated, and creating a pocket of rugged terrain. North of the divide, the margins of prior glaciations give way to much gentler
permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...
landforms that escaped glaciation, with ice margin formations such as
pingo Pingos are intrapermafrost ice-cored hills, high and in diameter. They are typically conical in shape and grow and persist only in permafrost environments, such as the Arctic and subarctic. A pingo is a periglacial landform, which is define ...
s,
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...
s, ice-wedge, polygons, and frost mounds. The park protects diverse flora and fauna, including five big game species Dall's sheep, two species of
caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
,
moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
, black bears,
grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...
s, and numerous smaller mammals. The Park is also a birders' delight, with about 150 bird species having been identified. Conservation efforts began in 1972 when scientists identified two sensitive sites. Two years later Canada's
Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
identified an area to be protected from development, in light of the building of the Dempster Highway, to protect the views of Tombstone Mountain. By 2000 the Park was created, a legacy of the land settlement agreement with the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, with a mandate to preserve and enhance its "physical, biological, archaeological and cultural values." The park is jointly administered by the territorial government and the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation. Notable features are Mount Monolith, Tombstone Mountain, and Glissade Pass. The scenic attractiveness of the Park, in particular, has attracted growing numbers of visitors from all parts of the world, with tourism operators now offering excursions through, and into, the Park. Numerous hiking trails intrude into the park from the Dempster corridor (a 1-km strip alongside the highway exempt from the park). Along this strip is an interpretive centre, open in summer, which provides visitors with necessary resources for accessing the backcountry and interpretive programs for understanding it, as well as several car camping sites. There are three designated backcountry campgrounds: Grizzly, Divide, and Talus Lakes. The park's most imposing feature, Mt. Tombstone, was first climbed by
Martyn Williams Martyn Elwyn Williams, (born 1 September 1975) is a former Wales and British & Irish Lions international rugby union player. A flanker, he was Wales' most-capped forward with 100 caps until surpassed by Gethin Jenkins on 30 November 2013. He ...
, Jurg Hofer, and Liz Hofer on June 21, 1973.


References


External links

*
Tombstone Territorial Park at Yukon.ca

Tombstone Backcountry Camping and Hiking

Dempster Travelogue

West Adventures Itinerary
{{Authority control Parks in Yukon Protected areas established in 2000 2000 establishments in Canada