Landforms
Jasper is in the Western Cordillera region, it is the purple coloured area on the map below. The Western Cordillera is much younger geologically than the Appalachians region (purple coloured area to the east on the map below). Mountains in the Western Cordillera were formed by the Pacific tectonic plate and the North American Plate. The Pacific tectonic plate forced its way under the North American plate.
Jasper has many U-shaped valleys. Glaciers passed through jagged mountains valleys creating a U-shaped valley, along with the help of the wind, water, glacial ice and a long period of time.
Jasper has many U-shaped valleys. Glaciers passed through jagged mountains valleys creating a U-shaped valley, along with the help of the wind, water, glacial ice and a long period of time.
Climate
Jasper's summer days are long, but the summer season is short. July is the warmest month in Jasper, July's average temperature was 22.5 degrees Celsius. September and October are when Jasper starts experiencing fall effects, it starts getting cooler in these months. Jasper's winter season is long and can get very cold and stormy, but can also be mild. January is the coldest month in Jasper, it's average temperature was -9.4 degrees Celsius. Then spring starts again in mid-April.
Altitude impacts the local climate. As the elevation increases the colder it gets. Also, winds from the Pacific Ocean impact the local weather, it brings warm air and moisture to the mountains. Many factors affect the climate and weather patterns in mountainous terrain. These factors include latitude, elevation and winds from the glaciers.
Jasper has a maritime climate. A maritime climate is a climate that is influenced by the closeness of an ocean or a large body of water. The annual temperature range is usually small and the precipitation is high. The Pacific Ocean is considerably distant from Jasper, but the ocean still influences Jasper's weather and climate.
Jasper is in the cordilleran climate region. The cordilleran climate region is the orange coloured area on the map below.
Altitude impacts the local climate. As the elevation increases the colder it gets. Also, winds from the Pacific Ocean impact the local weather, it brings warm air and moisture to the mountains. Many factors affect the climate and weather patterns in mountainous terrain. These factors include latitude, elevation and winds from the glaciers.
Jasper has a maritime climate. A maritime climate is a climate that is influenced by the closeness of an ocean or a large body of water. The annual temperature range is usually small and the precipitation is high. The Pacific Ocean is considerably distant from Jasper, but the ocean still influences Jasper's weather and climate.
Jasper is in the cordilleran climate region. The cordilleran climate region is the orange coloured area on the map below.
Extreme Weather
Natural Disaster
On August 10th, 2012 a ghost glacier fell at the base of Mt.Edith Cavell. Mount Edith Cavell is located in Jasper National Park and has a 3 300 metre peak. This caused a mini-tsunami, the pond overflowed causing a flood. It happened at 5:30 am, so no one was injured. It was estimated that 50 to 60 percent of the Ghost Glacier fell.
Soil & Vegetation
Jasper is in the complex soils of mountain areas. It is the purple coloured area on the soil regions of Canada map below. In this region, there are many different soils. The soil depends on the elevation, slope, rainfall, and the vegetation cover of each area within the mountain range. On the east side of the complex soil of mountain areas region, the soil has limited humus. Humus is the upper layer of soil that partly consists of decayed plant material.
Some soil formation factors are climate, organisms/vegetation, topography and relief, parent material, and time. With all those factors soil can be formed. A factor that can affect the soil development is human activity. Humans can be a positive factor to the process of soil formation, but we can change the natural accruing process from agriculture and land development. Jasper has leached soils. Jasper has a wet climate, causing leaching in the soil. Leaching is when water moves down through the soil, the minerals are removed from the soil. |
Jasper is in the cordilleran region. It is the orange coloured area on the natural vegetation regions of Canada map below. The cordilleran region consists of dense forests, but also has barren tundra vegetation. Jasper is close to the boreal and taiga forest (coloured a darker orange). This means that Jasper is in/close to the transition zone. A transition zone is when the characteristics of one region slowly start to change into the next.
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