America's Wild Spaces: Glacier National Park - National Geographic

First Aired: August 30, 2010

Exploring Glacier National Park in Montana and how wildlife there is adapting to global warming.

Global warming is transforming Glacier National Park as its inhabitants race to adapt. As melting glaciers push some wildlife to the brink of extinction, other animals battle tirelessly to persist despite the rapidly warming environment - in what is truly one of America's Wildest Spaces. When we arrive at Blackfoot Glacier - once one of the park's largest - we'll witness the transformation taking place, from disappearing waterfalls to the newly uncovered sculpted landscape.

The magnificent Glacier National Park is a national park located in the U.S. state of Montana, on the Canada–United States border with the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The park encompasses over 1 million acres (4,000 km2) and includes parts of two mountain ranges (sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains), over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants, and hundreds of species of animals. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem", a region of protected land encompassing 16,000 square miles (41,000 km2).

The region that became Glacier National Park was first inhabited by Native Americans. Upon the arrival of European explorers, it was dominated by the Blackfeet in the east and the Flathead in the western regions. Soon after the establishment of the park on May 11, 1910, a number of hotels and chalets were constructed by the Great Northern Railway.