Time for Nature

Celebrating and protecting a special place

December 20, 2004

Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada

The tufa mounds and hotsprings have featured in Dene legend for thousands of years.
© Parks Canada / Beedell, M / 12.120.03.31(39), 3/30/1981

Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada is home to several rare and powerful places, where natural beauty and First Nations legend come together in an awe-inspiring landscape. Among the most striking are the sinuous, shining mineral formations at Rabbitkettle Hotsprings known as Gahnihthah in the Dene language. Park staff are working hard to maintain the balance between giving visitors the chance to see this natural wonder and ensuring it is preserved.

A unique and spiritual space

Among the most striking features of Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada are the sinuous, shining mineral formations at Rabbitkettle Hotsprings known as Gahnihthah in the Dene language.
© Parks Canada / Poirel, J. / 12.120.03.31(12), 3/30/1972

In the area around the hotsprings, water percolates down several kilometres into stone, dissolving the limestone, absorbing calcium carbonate and heating up along the way. When the water is discharged at the hotsprings, it rapidly drops nearly 50 degrees Celsius and loses the carbon dioxide which causes the calcium carbonate to settle out of the rippling water and creates terraced, gleaming tufa mounds.

The springs moderate the climate locally and offer a constant, ice-free water supply. This highly specialized habitat helps to give the park the richest diversity of vegetation of any comparable area in the Northwest Territories.

The tufa mounds and hotsprings have featured in Dene legend for thousands of years. Tales of the mysterious, fierce Naha people - from whom the park takes its name - centre around the tufa mounds, as do stories about the giant Yampa Deja, the protector of the Dene, who was said to use the mounds as his dinner plate.

A delicate ecosystem

Recognized as a world heritage site by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre -World Heritage List (UNESCO), the entire park reserve is a wild and beautiful place with a delicately balanced ecosystem . The tufa mounds are particularly sensitive, so the 1,000 or so visitors who visit them every year are guided carefully to ensure the mounds are protected in all their strange splendour. “They gain access to a unique place, which is one of the reasons Nahanni was protected - because of the incredible variety of geomorphology (landscape shaped by water) of the area,” says Sophie Borcoman, senior heritage programs officer.

Leaving not a trace

With a park staff member in the lead, visitors hike about two hours to the hotsprings. When hikers arrive at the mounds, they are urged to step with care and barefoot, following in the footsteps of the hiker in front.
© Parks Canada / Butterill, J. / 12.120.04.09(10), 3/30/1991

As during any visit to a protected place, visitors are encouraged to tread carefully and to think about the impact of every step . With a park staff member in the lead, visitors hike about two hours each way, passing through the best berry crop in the park that is monitored for the presence of grizzly bears. If one is in the area, the field is closed off so the bear can eat its fill. When hikers arrive at the mounds, they are urged to step with care and barefoot, following in the footsteps of the hiker in front.

Park staff provide information about the natural and cultural heritage of the area. “I haven’t met a person yet who wasn’t incredibly moved by it,” says Borcoman. The interpretive hikes provide information and raise awareness. They also allow controlled access to a unique natural feature that would otherwise be off limits.

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