Jasper is in Jasper National Park in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. Is the largest of Canada's Rocky Mountain Parks and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Jasper spans 10,878 square kilometres (4200 square miles) of broad valleys, rugged mountains, glaciers, forests, alpine meadows and wild rivers along the eastern slopes of the Rockies in western Alberta. There are more than 1200 kilometres (660 miles) of hiking trails (both overnight and day trips), and a number of spectacular mountain drives.
Get in
Located in the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, Jasper is the shy cousin to bold, brassy Banff and offers a more serene experience. Approximately four hours north of Banff and four hours west of Edmonton, capital of the province of Alberta. Most people enter the park via Edmonton.
It can be reached by road or train. Highway 16, the Yellowhead Highway, connects Jasper to Edmonton, which has an international airport and is served by many major airlines. Highway 93, the Icefields Parkway, connects south through the Rockies to Lake Louise and onto Banff. Drivers will have to pay for a park admission pass as the town of Jasper is located within Jasper National Park. There are bus and train connections from Edmonton, Banff and Vancouver.
Those driving to the park should be aware that a park fee of $7/adult per night (max $14/carload per night) applies. Annual passes are available for $89.
Get around
There is no public transit. A few taxis and rental cars are available, and bikes can be rented in the summer.
Hitchhikers report that getting a lift in Jasper is very easy.
Jasper is small enough that most places can be easily walked to. Tour companies offer bus service to most of the major tourist destination including Malign Lake, The Columbia Icefields and Miette Hot Springs.
See
Maligne Lake, which has regular boat trips to see the wonder of a lake with water two different colours in different parts.Do
Excellent camping in the summer. Cross Country and downhill skiing in winter.Rent a bike. Plenty of sport shops offer bikes, which are a great way to see the area.Miette Hotsprings, , are an excellent place to go and relax after a day of hiking.Jasper Tram, .Maligne Canyon, . The river, up near Maligne Lake, flows in a mighty torrent. When it enters Medicine Lake (named in reference to bad medicine) it does so with great volumes. It does not, however, appear to flow out. Indeed, through the summer months Medicine Lake disappears until, in mid autumn all that is left is a thin channel that itself disappears into the shoreline.Athabasca Falls - The Athabasca River thunders through a narrow gorge where the walls have been smoothed and potholes are created by the sheer force of the rushing water carrying sand and rock. Parking and restroom facilities. Paved trail and picnic sites available.Columbia Ice Field Mount Robson (The parks namesake peak is the highest in the Canadian Rockies at 3954 metres. Mount Robson Provincial Park is 217,200 hectares of stunning mountains, valleys, and waterways. Forests of spruce, fir, balsam, cedar and alder are home to an abundant array of wildlife including mountain goats, moose, deer, elk, marmot and squirrels and chipmunks. The Rearguard Falls of the Fraser River is the furthest migration point of the Pacific salmon.Buy
No shortage of souvenir shops on the main street.Also, clothing, books, and plenty of outdoor equipment.Ski shops will also rent gear if you don't want to take your chances on the hills.Eat
Most of the hotels in or near Jasper have restaurants that will meet or beat your expectations for dining in a small community. Some are higher-toned than others, but across the board food is generally very good and portions tend to be hearty. In addition to the hotel restaurants, the town has several noteworthy dining spots as well as numerous restaurants catering to the hungry but penny-pinching skiers and other visiting outdoors-folk.
Andy's Bistro, 606 Patricia St. This central-European restaurant is one of the best in a town of excellent dining choices. The room is not large, and - truth be told - not particularly enticing. But the food is an innovative take on the satisfying cuisine of Germany and Austria: hearty dishes cooked with notable flair and quality. Prices are moderately high, but not out of line for the finer restaurants in Jasper.Dead Dog Bar & Grill, a favorite among locals, the $5.00 burger & fries deal is probably the cheapest meal in town. Happy hour is on Fridays. Located on Connaught Street.Something Else, 621 Patricia St. A Greek restaurant that serves up a variety of cuisine, and pizza.Sorrentino's Bistro Bar, 96 Geike St. Italian restaurant, popular Canadian chain.Denjiro Japanese Restaurant, 410 Connaught Dr. Japanese cuisine, sushi.Becker's Gourmet Restaurant - French / Canadian cuisineKimchi House, 407 Patricia St, +1 780 852-5022. Korean cuisine.Jasper Brewing Company, 624 Connaught Dr, +1 780 852-4111. Unique in Jasper, beer is brewed on-site.Le Petit Marche, 96 Geikie St (at the Chateau Jasper). The elegant Brasserie features buffet, a la minute and carving stations, plus a la carte menu.Earls, 600 Patricia St. Western Canadian cuisine.Drink
Buckles Saloon, Maligne Lodge, W end Connaught Dr, +1 780 852-7074.De'd Dog Bar & Grill, Bsmt, 620 Connaught Dr, +1 780 852-9449.Villa Caruso, Corner, Connaught Dr and Hazel Ave, +1 780 852-3920.The 'B' Ale House, 510 Patricia St, +1 780 852-3386.Chateau Jasper, 96 Geikie St, +1 780 852-5644.Nick's Bar, Juniper St between Connaught Dr and Geikie St, +1 780 852-4966.Sleep
BudgetIn the summer, there is excellent camping in the campgrounds operated by Parks Canada. Throughout the year, it is possible to stay in private accommodation. Prices vary, but standards are high - full details of what is available can be found in the tourist office in town.
HI: Maligne Canyon, Maligne Lake Rd (turn south off highway 16 just east of the townsite), +1 780 852-3215 or +1 877 852-0781, fax +1 780 852-5560, . Closed Wednesdays Oct-Apr, open all other times. Check-in between 5PM and 11PM, checkout by 10AM. This small, 24 bed hostel, is an excellent place to get away from things for a while. Though it lacks running water, you'll not miss anything else...there's a good sized kitchen, a supply of drinking water, and a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere. $15/person for HI members, $20/person for non-members.Mid-rangeThere are numerous motels and inns within the town, as well as in Hinton, just outside the eastern entrance to the park.
Mount Robson Inn 902 Connaught Drive, +1 780 852-3327. A comfortable well equipped two storey motel style inn. All rooms have air conditioning, cable television, and plenty of room. Reasonable prices.Patricia Lake Bungalows, +1 780 852-3560.Chateau Jasper Offers exceptional accommodations and amenities complemented by a young, personable staff who extend a warm and sincere welcome. Each guest room is beautifully appointed and retains the charm of the majestic Rockies. A restaurant and conference facilities are available on-site. CAD $140 - $462.Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre Rates: CAD $115 - $360.Maligne Lodge, +1 780 852-3143. Come and enjoy the warmth and hospitality of the Maligne Lodge. A stones throw away from the historical locations of the town centre. CAD $86 - $473 Mount Robson Inn, 902 Connaught Drive, +1 780 852-3327. Offers 80 luxurious, well appointed rooms and suites. CAD $94 - $325.Jasper Park Inn, 98 Geikie Street, +1 780 852-4461. Cozy and tastefully appointed fireside accommodation, comfortable amenities and casual fine dining amid the rugged beauty of the Canadian Rockies. Rates: CAD $93 - $413.Marmot Lodge, 86 Connaught Drive, +1 780 852-4471 Distinctive rooms and suites reflect a commitment to quality and fine detail. Look out upon the beauty of the mountains rising above the park-like grounds and the forests beyond. Featuring heated indoor pool, sauna and whirlpool as well as kitchen suites. Rates: CAD 70 - 260.SplurgeJasper Park LodgeOld Lodge Rd (turn south off highway 16 just east of the townsite, and make a quick right after crossing the river), +1 780 852-3301 or 800-257-7544 (jasperparklodge@fairmont.com, fax 780-852-5107), . The Jasper Park Lodge is the premier hotel in Jasper, and one of the most famous and storied mountain resorts in the Canada. Started as a tenting site in conjunction with the Grand Trunk Railway in 1915, it has grown into a renowned destination resort. $400 and up.Get out
VIA Rail runs routes through Jasper, which you can often include as a free stop-over if heading between Vancouver and Edmonton.
Jasper is an opaque, impure variety of quartz, usually red, yellow or brown in color. This mineral breaks with a smooth surface, and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished and is used for vases, seals, and at one time for snuff boxes. When the colors are in stripes or bands, it is called
striped or
banded jasper. Jaspilite is a banded iron formation rock that often has distinctive bands of jasper.
Etymology and historical/mythical usage
The name means "spotted stone", and is derived from Anglo-French
jaspre, from Old French
jaspe, from Latin
iaspidem, the accusative of
iaspis, from Greek
iaspis, via a Semitic language (cf. Hebrew
yashepheh, Akkadian
yashupu), ultimately from Persian
yashp.
The word
yashepheh in the masoretic text of Exodus 28:20, referring to a stone in the Hoshen, is thus reflected in the Septuagint by the word
Iaspis, and usually translated into English as
Jasper. Despite the most common form of Jasper being red, scholars think that the
yashepheh here actually refers to a green form of Jasper - which was very rare, and so highly prized; the Greeks used
Iaspis to refer to the green form, while the red form simply fell under the term
Sard - which just means
red. Rebbenu Bachya argues that this stone representing the tribe of Benjamin, but there is actually a wide range of views among traditional sources about which tribe the stone refers to.
It is described in the Book of Revelation (21:11) as follows: "It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal."
Types of jasper
Jasper can appear as an opaque rock of shades of red due to mineral impurities. Patterns can arise from the formation process and from flow patterns in the sediment or volcanic ash that was saturated with silica to form jasper, yielding bands or swirls in the rock.
Jasper may be permeated by dendritic minerals providing the appearance of vegetative growths. The jasper may have been fractured and/or distorted after formation, later rebonding into discontinuous patterns or filling with another material. Heat or environmental factors may have created surface rinds (such as varnish) or interior stresses leading to fracturing.
Egyptian jasper is a brown jasper, appearing as nodules in the Libyan desert and in the Nile valley between the Red Sea and Cairo, Egypt, distinguished by a zonal order of light and dark shades of colors. Egyptian jasper is also known as Egyptian pebble.
Picture jaspers simultaneously exhibit several of these variations (such as banding, flow patterns, dendrites or color variations) resulting in what appear to be scenes or images in a cut section (as in Biggs, Deschutes, Owyhee, Poppy and other named types). Spherical flow patterns produce a distinctive orbicular appearance (porcelain jaspers such as Blue Mountain, Bruneau and Willow Creek). Complex mixes of impurities produce wild color variations (as in McDermitt jasper). Healed fractures produce brecciated jasper (such as Canyon Creek). Examples of this can be seen at Llanddwyn Island.
Jasper is the gemstone of the Rooster from the Chinese Zodiac.
See also
List of mineralsCarnelianSardReferences
R. V. Dietrich, GemrocksMindathttp://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/jasper.html
