Glacier National Park, Many Glacier Hotel, Swiftcurrent Lake, Montana, USA

by Jeroen van Deel

Glacier National Park is a United States national park in northwestern Montana, on the border between Canada and the United States. The park covers more than 4,100 km2 and includes parts of two mountain ranges (sub-chains of the Rocky Mountains), more than 130 lakes, more than 1,000 different plant species and hundreds of animal species. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centrepiece of what has been called the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem, a protected area of 41,000 km2.

The area that later became Glacier National Park was first inhabited by Native Americans. When European explorers arrived, the area was dominated by the Blackfeet to the east and the Flathead to the west. Under pressure, the Blackfeet ceded the mountainous parts of their treaty territories to the federal government in 1895, and these became part of the park. Shortly after the park was established on 11 May 1910, a number of hotels and chalets were built by the Great Northern Railway. These historic hotels and chalets are listed as National Historic Landmarks and a total of 350 sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1932, work was completed on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, which was later declared a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, allowing motorists easier access to the heart of the park.