Soil Survey of Designated Areas within Kananaskis Provincial Park and Interpretation for Recreational Use

The mapped areas are about 56 km west of Calgary, along Trans-Canada Highway Number 1, and about 48 km south along Highway Number 40 (Fig. 1). The four areas mapped total about 895 ha of mountainous terrain, adjacent to the shores of Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes. Gravelly, cobbly, moderately coarse to medium-textured morainal deposits predominate throughout most of the study areas. A few deposits of very coarse textured glaciofluvial sediments, or gravel, also occur. Numerous, thin, organic deposits are found, as well. The climate is highly variable, with long cold winters interrupted occasionally by warm chinook winds. The vegetation ranges from subalpine coniferous forests at the lower elevations to alpine tundra above the tree line; the dominant tree-cover is lodgepole pine.