ROCKY MOUNTAINS PARK 



:>U4G 



RODENTS 



the Bow and the Spray rivers. Within easy 

 reach are gentle climbs and gorgeous vistas, as 

 well as challenging peaks which will try the 

 nerve of the most experienced Alpine climber. 

 From Banff, either afoot or with horses, the 

 tourist may visit dozens of interesting and at- 

 tractive spots. 



At Banff, near the junction of the Bow and 

 the Spray, are the pretty Bow Falls. Here 

 the banks of the Bow are fringed with superb 

 trees, whose green is heightened by the dark 

 mass of Mount Kdith. beyond them. Mount 

 Edith i.< 9.1.') i feet high, and is a fair test of the 

 climbing ability of an Alpinist. South of thr 

 Spray and west of the Bow is Rundle Moun- 

 tain, 9,798 feet high, whose precipitous eastern 

 slope is one of the striking features of the land- 

 scape. Another pretty elevation is Sulphur 

 :ntain, the culmination of a long, wooded 

 ridge north of Banff. It takes its name from 

 the hot sulphur springs on its slope. A short 

 distance below the springs is the club house of 

 the Canadian Alpine Club, and on the summit 

 is a little observatory from which a beautiful 

 bird's-eye view may be obtained. 



There are many other points to see at Banff. 

 There is Buffalo Park, in which buffalo, elk and 

 moose may be seen living practically in their 

 natural state. There are beautiful drives up 

 the Spray valley, past old lumber camps and 

 through forests to the Spray Canyon. Another 

 drive goes to the Sun Dance Canyon. There 

 are lovely lakes the Spray lakes, the Sawback 

 lakes, Vermilion and Minnewanka. Minne- 

 wanka is very deep and walled in by high cliffs. 

 Trout fishing is best in the Sawbacks, but there 

 is good sport on all of them. The Cave and 

 Basin, about a mile from Banff, are a remark- 

 able rock formation from which gush natural 

 sulphur springs; there the Canadian govern- 

 ment has built a fine swimming pool. Near by 

 are the Koodoos, strange, fantastic masses of 

 rock, somewhat like those in the Garden of the 

 Gods in Colorado. 



Lake Louise. Although Banff is the entrance 

 to the Rocky Mountains Park, it must divide 

 honors for beauty with Lake Louise, "the Pearl 

 of the Rockies," which lies in the western part 

 of the park, near the British Columbia bound- 

 ary. Not only is Lake Louise beautiful, but 

 on all sides are landscapes of unforgetable 

 grandeur. Exquisite coloring, always changing, 

 somber forests and gleaming glaciers, sullen 

 rocky slopes and bright, snow-capped peaks, all 

 together are mirrored in the waters of the lake. 

 See LOUISE, LAKE; PARKS, NATIONAL. W.F.Z. 



ROCKY MOUNTAIN WHITE GOAT, a hab- 

 itant of the high summits of the American and 

 Canadian Rockies, belonging to the goat ante- 

 lope family. It has a pure white, silky coat, 

 small black hoofs, and slender black horns 

 which curve backwards, and it is about three 

 feet high at the shoulders. The animal lives 

 for the most part high above the timber line, 



ROCKY MOUNTAIN WHITE GOAT 



midst snow and glaciers, where its white coat 

 is an excellent means of protection. It feeds 

 on the grasses that are found along the edges 

 of the glaciers. Hunters often track these goats 

 by following their trails, for they usually keep 

 to the trodden paths. Not only is their flesh 

 palatable, but their skins are valued for mak- 

 ing rugs. 



RO'DENTS, or RODENTIA, roden'shia, 

 an order of mammals whose distinguishing char- 

 acteristic is the possession of teeth especially 

 adapted for gnawing. These teeth are large, 

 curved, deeply rooted incisors, and there is one 

 pair in the front of each jaw. They are pecul- 

 iar in that they grow continuously from the 

 roots, but wear away at the tips; as the front 

 surfaces alone are protected by enamel, the 

 teeth wear faster at the back, and so a sharp, 

 chisel-like edge is developed. For this reason 

 these animals can gnaw through very hard sub- 

 stances. Canine teeth are totally absent. Ro- 

 dentia show considerable variation in size; the 

 smallest rodent is the mouse, and the largest 

 the capybara, a South American aquatic animal 

 that grows to be four feet long. In habits 

 there is even greater variety, for some live in 

 burrows, as gophers, prairie dogs and marmots ; 

 some have nests in the woodlands and mead- 

 ows, as field mice; some live in trees, as squir- 



