Nahanni National Park
| Nahanni National Park Reserve | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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Virginia Falls
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 Location of Nahanni National Park Reserve in Canada
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| Location | Northwest Territories, Canada |
| Nearest city |
Fort Simpson Fort Liard Nahanni Butte |
| Coordinates | 61°32′50″N 125°35′22″W / 61.54722°N 125.58944°WCoordinates: 61°32′50″N 125°35′22″W / 61.54722°N 125.58944°W |
| Area | 30,050 km2 (11,600 sq mi) |
| Established | 1972 |
| Governing body | Parks Canada |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | vii, viii |
| Designated | 1978 (2nd session) |
| Reference no. | 24 |
| Country | Canada |
| Region | Europe and North America |
Nahanni National Park Reserve in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, approximately 500 km (311 mi) west of Yellowknife, protects a portion of the Mackenzie Mountains Natural Region. The centrepiece of the park is the South Nahanni River (Naha Dehé). Four noteworthy canyons reaching 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in depth, called First, Second, Third and Fourth Canyon, line this spectacular whitewater river. The name Nahanni comes from the indigenous Dene language name for the area; Nahʔa Dehé, which means "river of the land of the Nahʔa people", who some now speculate may have been the ancestors of the modern day Navajo people.
There are several different landforms in the park that have taken millions of years to form, and give it a diversity not seen in any other national park in Canada. Sediment left by an ancient inland sea 500-200 million years ago had since become pressed into layers of rock. These layers were stacked about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) deep and are peppered with fossils, remnants of these ancient sea beds. As the continents shifted, the North American and Pacific Plates collided, the force of which pushed the layers of rock upwards. Ridges of rock bent and broke, leaving behind the ranges seen today. This same action also caused volcanic activity, sending molten lava into but not through the sedimentary rock. While there are no volcanoes in the park, towers of heated rock called igneous batholiths were sent upwards, pushing the sediment further up. The top layer of sedimentary rock was eventually eroded away, resulting in granite towers that form the Ragged Range.
Over the last 2 million years, glaciers have covered most of North America, creating most of the land formations seen today. While previous ice ages affected the park area, the most recent, the Wisconsin Ice Age (85,000-10,000 years ago) touched only the most western and eastern parts of the park. This has left many geological features in the park much more time to develop than most of North America had.
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Wikipedia