SOIL SURVEY

-12-DRAINAG EYoho National Park is located within division 8 NA on the drainage basi nmap published by the Water Resources Branch of the Department of the Environmen t(Canada) . The eastern boundary of the Park is coincident with the divide betweenthe water flowing to the Pacific Ocean, and that flowing to the Atlantic Ocean .The Park is drained by the upper Kicking Horse River and its tributaries, which ar epart of the Columbia river drainage system . The Kicking Horse River joins theColumbia River at Golden . Four major tributary valleys, oriented parallel to th emain ranges, enter the Kicking Horse Valley from the north (Figure 6) . These are ,from east to west, the Yoho Valley, The Amiskwi Valley, the Otterhead Valley ,and the Porcupine Creek Valley . Three major valleys, again oriented parallel t othe main ranges, enter the Kicking Horse Valley from the south . These are, fromeast to west, the Cataract Brook Valley, the Ottertail Valley and the Beaverfoo tValley . Other major perennial rivers and streams in Yoho include the Ice an dKiwetinok Rivers, Otto Creek, Boulder Creek, McArthur Creek, and Goodsi rCreek . Most of the headwaters have their origins at 1,800 to 2,100 m a .s .l . andjoin the Kicking Horse River or its tributaries at elevations between 1,100 an d1,600m a .s .l .The. majori ty of the streams and rivers in Yoho have relatively steep gradient swith Oesa and Hoodoo Creeks having gradients of 246 and 206 m/km respectivel yand the Yoho and Ottertail Rivers having gradients of 46 and 42 m/km respectivel y(Mudry and Anderson 1975) . These steep gradients result in actively eroding strea mbeds . Exceptions to this are the Beaverfoot River with a gradient of only 11 m/k m(Mudry and Anderson 1975) and portions of the Kicking Horse River where ther eare relatively extensive accumulations of alluvial sediments (Figure 7) .Many of the streams (Takakkaw Creek being a notable example), ar edirectly or indirectly glacier fed and consequently have a variable, often diurnal ,discharge rate which is related to atmospheric temperatures and cloud cover .