Q 01/05

In which Canadian province is Banff National Park?

A) Saskatchewan

B) British Columbia

C) Ontario

D) Alberta

Answer · why

D) Alberta

It sits on Alberta's western border with British Columbia, with Yoho and Kootenay national parks just over the divide.

Q 02/05

In what year was Banff established as Canada's first national park?

A) 1885

B) 1930

C) 1901

D) 1891

Answer · why

A) 1885

It began as the tiny Banff Hot Springs Reserve and was the third national park in North America, after Yellowstone and Mackinac.

Q 03/05

What natural feature prompted the creation of the park after railway workers found it in 1883?

A) A gold seam

B) An ice cave

C) Thermal springs

D) A waterfall

Answer · why

C) Thermal springs

Rival claims to develop the springs led Prime Minister John A. Macdonald to set them aside as a public reserve.

Q 04/05

Which prime minister set aside the first 26 sq km around the Cave and Basin springs in 1885?

A) Alexander Mackenzie

B) Robert Borden

C) Wilfrid Laurier

D) John A. Macdonald

Answer · why

D) John A. Macdonald

The Rocky Mountains Park Act of 1887 then expanded it to 674 square kilometres.

Q 05/05

Under what name was Banff known officially from 1887 until 1930?

A) Cascade Park

B) Rocky Mountains Park

C) Dominion Park

D) Bow Valley Park

Answer · why

B) Rocky Mountains Park

The 1930 National Parks Act renamed it after the Canadian Pacific Railway station, itself named for Banffshire in Scotland.