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Glacier National ParkMany Glacier and frozen Swiftcurrent Lake
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Glacier National Park
Purpose and Significance Statements

Purpose

  • To preserve and protect the natural and cultural resources for future generations.
  • To provide opportunities to experience, understand and enjoy the park consistent with the preservation of resources in a state of nature.
  • To celebrate the ongoing peace, friendship, and goodwill among nations, recognizing the need for cooperation in a world of shared resources.

Significance

  • Glacier’s scenery dramatically illustrates an exceptionally long geologic history and the many geological processes associated with mountain building and glaciation.
  • Glacier offers relatively accessible spectacular scenery and increasingly rare primitive wilderness experiences.
  • Glacier is at the core of the “Crown of the Continent” ecosystem, one of the most ecologically intact areas remaining in the temperate regions of the world.
  • Glacier’s cultural resources chronicle the history of human activities and show that people have long place high value on the area’s natural features.
  • Waterton-Glacier is the world’s first international peace park.
The Robert Fire of 2003  

Did You Know?
Did you know that 2003 was one of the hottest recorded years in Glacier National Park's history? That year, approximately 144,000 acres burned from multiple wildfires.

Last Updated: November 17, 2006 at 14:02 EST