Features
Cardinal Divide
Area
- The Cardinal Divide area is adjacent to the eastern side of Jasper National Park, southeast of the town of Hinton.
- Elevation: over 1,829 km (6000 ft). The high point is posted at 1,981meters (~6500ft)
- glacial refugium, presumed ice-free corridor
- patterned ground, waterfalls and cascades
- diverse geomorphic features
- fossil beds
- Cadomin Cave - Bats
- 3 km passages
- hibernaculum for rare long-legged bat, northern long-eared bat (blue-listed in AB) and little brown bat
- 2000-5000 in winter
- 1 of 2 known hibernacula for northern long-eared bat
- confirmed swarming site (mating, allows for genetic diversity between species) for 10,000 to 20,000 bats
 Township and Range map: JPG | PDF |
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 Natural Subregions map: JPG | PDF |
Natural Region
- Rocky Mountain Natural Region
- Subregions: Sub-Alpine and Alpine
Provincially Significant Areas
- Whitehorse Creek
- McLeod River Headwaters
- Redcap Mountain
- Cardinal River Headwaters
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Watershed
- McLeod - Athabasca rivers to the Arctic Ocean and Cardinal - North Saskatchewan rivers to Hudson’s Bay and the Atlantic Ocean
Biodiversity:
- The area is considered a ‘nunatak’ as it remained ice-free during the last glaciation. This has left a rich alpine plant community with 277 plant species, 37 of which are rare or disjunct.
- wildlife travel corridors
- rare plants (at least 92)
- ~27 species of threatened mammals and birds
- diversity of mammals (47 species) and songbirds (129 species)
- rare and disjuncts insects and crustaceans documented
Cultural
- Significant paleontological sites; sacred land of the First Nations, they have used medicinal plants in the area throughout history; the site of one of Alberta’s first, most remote and highest elevation (underground) mining villages-- Mountain Park.
