Jasper Palisade

The Palisade is a geologic formation of Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. It is so named because it has a sheer cliff face and vertical markings, reminiscent of palisade walls used as a protective enclosure around forts. While driving westward along Canada Highway 16 (the Yellowhead Highway), one can see the Palisade in the west as the highway first crosses the Athabasca River approximately 19 km (12 mi) east of Jasper townsite.

The Palisade was once home to a forest fire lookout station, as it afforded a clear view of much of the Athabasca River Valley. The fire lookout has since been abandoned as more modern techniques of fire detection have become available. However, the clear view of the Athabasca River Valley remains, and one can hike to the crest of the Palisade from Pyramid Lake. This hike is approximately 10 km from the lake to the crest and the elevation gain is approximately 800m.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, March 28, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.