CASTLEGUARD. by Muir, Dalton and Ford, Derek. Foreword by J. Keith Fraser - 1985

Ottawa: Ministry of Environment, 1985. Unpaginated, oblong (8 3/4" H x 11 1/4" D). 113 colour photographs, plus three maps. "Beside the Columbia Icefield, in Banff National Park, lies a narrow valley. One end of the valley is a barren arctic waste, newly formed by the retreat of the ice ages. Gradually, it grades into an alpine meadow and then into a northern coniferous forest. The valley and the glaciers around it gell the story of how the landscapes of Canada were formed, from the great ice ages to this summer's flowers. Partway down the valley there is a cave mouth, the sole entrance to an enormous complex of vaults and passage-ways under the valley and glacier. In the cold darkness of the Castleguard caves water has been forming and enlarging passages for hundreds of thousands of years. Glistening white stalactites, among the purest in the world, have been growing for millennia. Come celebrate Castleguard with the adventurers who have explored and photographed the austere beauty of this land shaped by water, cold and time." Contents: Foreword; Castleguard; The Two Landscapes of Castleguard; Populating a New Land; A Succession of Plant Communities; Water Makes Life Possible; The Little Ice Age; Cave Formation: The Surface; Cave Formation: Underground; Return to Light; The Experience; An Overview; Maps; Photographers/Acknowledgements. Tiny bump at top of spine. Dust jacket has minor rubbing on rear panel, very small wrinkle at top of spine, 2" crease at bottom edge of rear panel, minor browning at top edge of flap-folds.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good+/Very Good.