Photos

August 2, 2005
Our first visit with Banff is for a historical place of Canada. In 1883, 3 workmen of the railroad company are at the origin of the creation of of Banff National Park. The visitors are attracted by the sources hot (34 °C) and their healing virtues. The arguments between the 3 workmen for the possession of the sources led the Canadian government to all to repurchase and to create a reserve around the sources. According to them, these thermal springs could not be a resource private, and the Canadian people in entirety took precedence over for the usage of this place. It was the first park cancadien.

In 1888, more than 5000 people swam in water of the cave. This success encouraged the government to build infrastructures around the cave. A swimming pool was built between 1912 and 1914. But in 1976 whole was closed because of instability of the ground. In 1995, for the hundred years of the discovery, a restoration in the respect of the style of 1886 was undertaken. Since, it is more than one million visitors per annum which makes the visit of it. It is not unfortunately possible any more to bathe.
Indeed the sulfurous water cave shelters a variety of small snails single in the world. It was also in some other caves in the surrounding. But since 1920, it A disappeared from the other cave. People of Canada Park supervise his population and try to support the increase of it to be able to reintroduce them in the other caves.
The picture presents the source and the basin to you which is at the bottom of a cave. The initial access was done by the top. One sees on the photograph, the light on the right rock face, and the clear part of water. The orange color of the rock is mainly due to the layer of tuff, of more than 7 meters in certain place, which covers the walls with the cave.