Stagleap Provincial Park

Along the Kootenay Pass lies Stagleap Provincial Park, named after the mountain caribou which pass through here during the short summer. At present there exists only a small herd of less than two dozen animals which, in the course of their annual wanderings, also pass through the north-eastern part of the U.S. state of Washington and north Idaho. One of the objectives of Stagleap Provincial Park is to protect these animals. At the western end of Bridal Lake - which is often frozen over until June - at the foot of the 2393 m (7854 ft) high Riddle Mountain a small visitors' center provides information on the flora and fauna of Stagleap Provincial Park, especially about this rare species of caribou now threatened with extinction and which the American and Canadian authorities are co-operating closely to try and save.