Reaserch:
Geography Assignment
Whistler
Physical landforms:
1. mountains
2. The lake in Garibaldi provincial park
Why they exist:
Whistler glaciers were formed from the last ice age, this is how they were formed:
As Cretaceous rivers continuously sent granular material into the former ocean, it was deposited yearly to eventually form layers of sedimentary material. Once the sedimentary material was compressed, it created the compound rock formations that now form portions of Whistler Mountain.
2. the lake in Garibaldi Park was formed by lava flows blocking the valley creating a dug out which was filled with water and is now a lake. Glaciers created a dug out in the land which filled up with water and became a lake.
Economic activities:
- Glacier mountains in whistler: Skiing and snowboarding, hiking, mountain biking, snowmobiling.
- Garibaldi provincial park lake: Swimming, ice skating in winter, paddle boarding, canoeing, and hiking around the lake.
How Whistler can make money off these activities:
For swimming, the lake is cold, so you can rent a wet suit which costs $20 an hour.
Skating you can rent out skates because people do not have skates.
For hiking, people might want a guide to help them around and to take them to nice spots that could make money.
These are economic activities because most people come to Whistler, rent a hotel room, buy a ski pass, rent equipment. They go out for meals and spend money in the shops in the village while they are there. Many people rent paddle boards, kayaks and/or canoes to explore the lakes. The lakes are also used for large competitions such as the Tough Mudder which brought about 10,000 people to whistler for the weekend to participate.
2. Climate
Whistler has its cold and snowy weather because it is a part of the coast mountains.
Whistler is extremely high, so it gets cold because when you are at a high altitude the heat must spread out to reach the whole peak, therefore whistler is colder because there is less air pressure.
Summer in Whistler has lots of activities happening all the time. There are free concerts, international sport events such as Crankworx and Ironman, races and marathons, and various festivals including Pemberton Music Festival, Wanderlust and Whistler Beer Festival.
The average temperature in Whistler’s summer is around 23° Celsius!! As the locals say, “people move here in the winter and stay for the summer.”
In the winter Whistler holds a wine and food festival called Cornucopia.
Whistler holds many mountain biking, trail running, ziplining and archery events almost every year.
Whistler makes approximately $262.3 million per year!!
Whistler also held the Olympics which generated huge money for Whistler and people from all over the world came to watch and now they come back regularly because they loved it so much. The Olympics in total made a whopping CAD$ 1,900,000.
3. Vegetation
1. Variety of trees, including Pine, Cedar, Hemlock, and Evergreen
2. Moss and wildflowers depending on the season
Trees and other plants exist in Whistlers’ forests because the soil is rich in black organic material, extremely high in nutrients. Many different types of plants (like ferns and all kinds of colorful wildflowers) and trees (like spruce, pine, cedar, hemlock, and Evergreen) can grow in this kind of soil.
Economic activities:
One activity that exists because of the vegetation is ziplining. While ziplining, people like to look at the views from the mountaintops, the crystal lakes that look green and sparkle when you look down from the ziplines, and the lush forests. Ziplining is a very profitable business in Whistler. It is also a non-harmful way to use the mature trees to support the ziplines.
Another activity is hiking. Hiking in Whistler provides great exercise due to the changes in terrain – steep mountain inclines can be very challenging. There are great viewpoints along almost every trail in Whistler and if you are lucky, you may see a variety of different wildlife – from bald eagles to black bears.
Costs of ziplining: Around $130 for 2.5 hours
Cost of a hiking tour guide: average $160.