How has the Geography of the West shaped who we are?

Place: Being the tallest suspension bridge in Canada, The Golden Skybridge is 130 metres high and 150 metres long! I feel like this is significant as it differentiates the Golden Skybridge from other suspension bridges. The bridge being surrounded by the awe-inspiring Rocky and Purcell mountain ranges doesn’t hurt either. 

This is the author of the book, Kennedy. They enjoy reading, music, sports, deep conversations, and being around people! They had fun making this book and hope you liked it! :)

Before we are able to answer the driving question, “How has the geography of the West shaped who we are?” we have to understand what geography is. We will be doing this through: The 5 Themes of Geography! The five themes of Geography are: Place, Location, Movement, Region, and Human-Environment interaction. On the next 2 pages there are graphics of each theme. On the page after those two, just in case it isn’t apparent, I will explain how each photo is representing the theme and clarify the themes definition.

This photo is of my friend admiring the springs. It shows that though we were unable to swim at Cave and Basin there was still much natural beauty and history to appreciate. I believe the story of the Banff Springs Snail relates to this photo and shows how people of the west value their natural environment, and are willing to give up an economic return to preserve nature. In 1986 the hot springs at Cave and Basin were closed from swimming. This is because of research done on the Banff Springs Snail. This small but mighty snail is a keystone species in the hot springs and is only found in the Banff hot springs. Turns out that people swimming in the hot springs kills the snail’s eggs and the only way to keep the species alive was to stop swimming in the hot springs all together. Now, every few years scientists visit the springs and check on the Banff Springs Snails. 

The natural beauty and structure of the canyon provided a unique business opportunity. The business gives consumers access to a suspension bridge and activities like zip lining and ropes courses that wouldn’t be possible in the area without the benefit of the natural environment. 

This is my Investigative video. For this I was required to created a 2-3 minute long interview style video and include a “stand up explanation” somewhere within the video. I was also instructed to add at least 2 of my own effects, ie voiceovers, filters, text.

The Golden Skybridge is a beautiful location with fun activities and definitely worth stopping by if you’re in the area. But maybe not so much for people afraid of heights!!


I loved seeming all the smiling faces hiking the same trail as us! The beauty was overwhelming and I loved every second of it… expect for when I had trouble breathing and had to take my inhaler. 

The canoe rental companies make a lot of profit due to the population of tourists visiting. I also believe that the reason every stranger we met said hi (there were a LOT) was because of the calming nature of the situation (get it?). I’m sorry for the pun. 

Human-environment interaction: Minnewanka Landing, the sunken city below Lake Minnewanka was sunk as a result of flooding from two dams built during the 1900s. Though this negatively impacted people at that time, it would later offer a unique benefit. 

Place: Lake Minnewanka is a popular spot for tourists with its beautiful blue water and view of the wonderful Rockies. However, the thing that really sets Lake Minnewanka apart, particularly for scuba divers is the submerged city. Lake Minnewanka is home to the most pristine sunken city in Canada. The scuba divers especially enjoy coming during the winter as that’s when the sunken city is most visible. 

Place: The museum is an amalgamation of important Canadian history related to the CPR. This makes it a unique spot to learn. Region: The Revelstoke Railway Museum has an abundance of information about the CPR and how it has impacted Canada, which relates to not only this province but all of the provinces.

Photo 3: Cave and Basin National Historic Site

I really enjoyed the exhibit that was shown at Cave and Basin made by the Resilience Institute, an organization focused on stopping climate change through sustainable multi-generational measures. They masterfully weaved together information on First Nations people and scientific data on climate issues. Having this exhibit at Cave and Basin is impactful because of its initiative to protect Banff springs snails, and its history with First Nations people.  


Having a stone from Scotland to commemorate the heritage of the Donald A. Smith, the person who hammered the last spike is very interesting. It’s not only interesting for the obvious reason of choosing to get a rock from Scotland to Craigellachie. Choosing to honour someone who had to hammer a second “last spike” because he wasn’t used to hammering spikes was an intriguing decision. It is telling of the racism that was very prominent at the time. 

Place: The Larches in Larch Valley only turn yellow for a period of two weeks per year. During this period people flock to Larch Valley to get a glimpse of the temporary beauty. They are even more desirable as they only grow above a certain altitude. Now, if you are thinking, “Kennedy, trees and lakes aren’t the same thing. Get your eyes checked!” While you are correct, the Larches in Larch Valley aren’t technically apart of Lake Moraine, they are very close to it and I personally found them astonishing. Human environment interaction: The fact that so many people of all ages and from all over the world choose to hike up to see the Larches shows just how inspired people are by nature. It makes me happy to see people appreciating and positively interacting with nature! Movement: Moraine Lake is a popular tourist destination and anyone who comes to the lake in a personal vehicle is required to take a tour bus unless they are a bus.

These next three pages have all the videos I filmed during the duration of the trip! Enjoy!

Experiencing the Canadian West: A Journey Through its Diverse Geography

As someone who loves chilly places I absolutely loved the Columbia Ice Field! It was astonishing how accessible the glacier was and the bus drivers that doubled as tour guides we had were a hoot!

This is my silent video. It follows the story of a very laid-back person who becomes the accomplice in a murder. The person convicted for the crime is not who you’d expect! The requirements for this video were that it must but 1-2 minutes, include digital enhancements specifically music and a black and white filter.

The Columbia Ice Field is the main source of water for many rivers, flows to three separate oceans, and provides freshwater for millions of North Americans.

I came across a section talking about how a mont long train tour of Canada in 1939 by Queen Elizabeth and King George publicly reinforced the ally ship between Britain and Canada leading up to WW2. That is pretty significant. I had a moment where I thought, “I can’t believe how interconnected everything is”. When you think about it, it makes sense, but you don’t truly realize it until you hear an absurd but also completely reasonable fact like that. But maybe that’s just me. On an unrelated note, I enjoyed the 24/7 livestream with audio, that was outside of The Revelstoke Railway Museum.

Within the Museum there are sections on tourism impacting Canadian cities all over. Revelstoke itself was created for the CPR and continues to exist because of the CPR.

Location: The last spike is a historically significant place because of what occurred on its land (surprise surprise, the last spike of the CPR was hammered). This same significance also connects the theme of movement to the last spike. Movement: Tourism has been brought to Craigellachie because of the history of its location. Regardless of whether it’s because people are simply passing by or it’s that they travelled overseas for the beauty and history that is offered here, there is a large connection to movement. Region: The cairn at the Last Spike displays a rock from every province in Canada, and Scotland, because the person who hammered the final spike was of Scottish descent. This cairn represents the all the regions (&amp; Scotland) that would use the CPR being united through their communal achievement, this was also one of the first times where there was national unity in Canada.

Rogers pass is part of the CPR and therefore apart of bringing good, people and ideas, all across Canada. 

Human environment interaction: This photo indicates the adaptation of humans when working with nature. They had a problem building the railroad with the physical difficulties offered by the area. By building pillars they modified the environment to fit their needs. Place: The uniqueness of these pillars makes this place special and recognizable. It carries history that’s very in your face.

Rogers pass represents a vein that keeps the blood flowing. Though it may be a small part of the system, it keeps the railroad operating. 


Location: Cave and Basin was the reason for the first Canadian National Park. When railway workers William McCardell, Tom McCardell, and Frank McCabe came across the hot springs, they saw potential for profit and brought their findings to the Canadian Government. Originally called Banff Hot Springs Reserve, then the Rocky National Park, it’s now known as Banff National Park. Human-environment interaction: For the first peoples the hot springs offered warmth and had ceremonial use. Cave and Basin becoming apart of the first Canadian National Park showed the federal government the economic and environmental benefit of preserving our natural environment. Movement: The tourism that was brought because of Cave and Basin got people to use the CPR. It effectively collected people from all over and allowed them to experience the hot springs and a new landscape.

The Last spike is historically important, and this importance has benefited the economy of Craigellachie. The way in which it has economically benefited Craigellachie is it has given people a reason to stop by the small village, impacting a variety of other businesses within it! 

Lake Minnewanka has been a spiritual place for the Stoney Nakoda people, they believed it to possess healing properties. It has also created business opportunities, an example of this is the boat cruise company that we used. 

I enjoyed learning about the Stoney Nakoda people from our guide on the boat trip. Here’s a video I took of the guide showing us an example of using limestone to boil water. A practice the Stoney Nakoda people had for making food.

The following pages will be formatted with a page showing 1 photo of a location followed by reflection page(s) on the location shown in the photo. Each reflection will answer the three same questions:

How does this photo represent at least 1 of the 5 themes of geography?

What is the significance of this photo and its physical environment, historically, politically, socially, or economically?

How do I connect to or interpret this photo?

Place: The Columbia Ice Field is such a unique place with the most visited glacier in North America, the Athabasca. During my time at the ice field I learned about not one, but two different emotional connections that people had made to the glacier. Both related to grief and parental relationships. The glacier, though it’s just a place, has been made more because it elicits strong emotions and significant memories have and continue to be created by it. Human environment interaction: Though beautiful, the Athabasca Glacier is expected to be gone by 2040-2100. The cause of our rapidly melting glaciers is human activities. (can put part of video from tour)

These are my TikTok style videos made with Monica. We were required to use a TikTok trend while still incorporating some of uniqueness of the West.

<a href="bookcreator://page/58jqV_IURYStR0clHX6hFA">5 Themes of Geography pt. 1 </a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/NUWhxfATTYuXZu29ie8YFQ">Lake Minnewanka photo</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/xNH1u4YfTtSexQOKFOzwfw">Golden Skybridge photo</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/xWwqSGnvQA6hEq5uVZWWqA">5 Themes of Geography pt 2.</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/S4yL8KTLSWKJh64svivYuA">Lake Minnewanka reflection</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/1j7_316dQuCjo8lYhdHyxA">Golden Skybridge reflection</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/vyeTEaG4S6az_zQBWPv47g">5 Themes of Geography pt. 3</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/sfebO-E8SGqPjN3S5wGBXw">Lake Minnewanka reflection 2</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/BKWJxLZES1i4eJdUc_t4Bg">Golden Skybridge reflection 2</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/wpTAwSeeTdKFaOtYHozPyw">5 Themes of Geography pt. 4</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/uNIr-X71QLeybLdiTE2SNA">Lake Minnewanka reflection 3</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/IKZONbjUQ0mmoC_va-9P_A">Golden Skybridge reflection 3</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/v6O4t8vDQQeqnakh7ziSog">Information about reflections</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/8oiG-4r6Qiq7u01yeXlHMQ">The Columbia Ice Field photo</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/pvoz3Z5zRVO4FOVoA30reA">Revelstoke Railway Museum photo</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/K3JOOBryT--94gD5ZJUjIA">The Last Spike photo</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/vAW3T7NZSiiqVWcZXJK_ig">Columbia Ice Field reflection</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/SXunqYP3Q464xg0aNN7WGA">Revelstoke Railway Museum reflection</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/o0SAyffRQt2Hn1ELuw3CpA">The last spike reflection</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/lN0qlkRFRmKmmTWHnbo2_A">Columbia Ice Field reflection 2</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/SXunqYP3Q464xg0aNN7WGA">Revelstoke Railway Museum reflection part 2</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/qZP3rkX-T3C4YAYiUPsQEA">The Last Spike reflection 2</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/mPML1vIPRQKEAL2X2c9FIw">Revelstoke Railway Museum reflection 3</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/XgZh_tUsTv-fAOZcgEvTSw">The last spike reflection 3</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/ehh3qe3VQ12p37j_OW-3LQ">Columbia Ice Field reflection 3</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/Hmf3hCZGTcae7QWjB7X9cg">Rogers pass photo</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/NUWhxfATTYuXZu29ie8YFQ">Lake Moraine photo</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/bFEJ7KmiQYm2efSdvuEVSA">Investigation video</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/oVqoVpNOT5-zgoMT6Ld15A">Rogers Pass reflection</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/m6gvyWYxTjKMkbJlqA51zA">Video information page</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/ZxZ6yHN4SP6r3YKVHMTzow">Lake Moraine reflection </a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/vcQUY_FJQLO3CBdNd5VfkA">Silent video</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/V6OXoohiQIivf_ilWNgzOw">Cave and Basin photo</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/RSSUVY9tQ0aOP4s-lnygeg">Lake Moraine reflection 2</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/EjFhvLfsQo6sjdQ3PMoaqw">TikTok videos</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/oxC-bChEQTOxjtdvpyToEw">Cave and Basin reflection</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/PZkERp_mReC_tFa07FcpEA">Lake Moraine reflection 3</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/l3bnO49wQZC1j9cKX8jBpg">About the author page</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/AXqtFLgNRaCwWef4fVRmAg">Cave and Basin reflection 2</a>

<a href="bookcreator://page/VJUIGJ15RgqcqwIds1FGnA">Cave and Basin reflection 3</a>

Within this project we are defining Place as the cultural and physical characteristics that define a destination. My example represents place because Larches (the trees in the photo) only grow in certain areas and are only yellow for two weeks per year. Making Larch Valley a unique place.

Regions can be one of three categories formal, functional, or vernacular. Formal meaning defined by government. Functional regions are defined by commonality, such as a group of glaciers being described as a glacial region. A vernacular region would be the most commonly spoke language in an area. This is a display of formal region because this cairn represents all of Canada because it has a stone form every province.

This train shows movement and the movement of the CPR which introduced transferring goods, people, and ideas across Canada.  

This glacier photo represents human environment interaction for two reasons. One, because human activities have caused glaciers to melt. The glacier in the photo will likely not exist in 30-60 years. And two, scientists from NASA are doing research on the glaciers currently, and also have done so in recent years. They suspect that there are similar glacial environments on Mars and are interacting with our world to better navigate others.

Location is either absolute, or relative. The pillars in this photo are representative of location as they are a very recognizable and easily describable landmark. 

Name

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