national park in southwestern Alberta, Canada. Located on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, Banff occupies 2,564 square miles (6,641 square km). It is adjacent to Yoho (Yoho National Park) and Kootenay (Kootenay National Park) national parks and south of Jasper National Park. Noted for its beauty, plant and animal diversity, and ongoing geologic processes, Banff was designated part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage site in 1984.

In its western section, Banff extends to the high alpine peaks along the Continental Divide, but most of the park area lies in the Front Ranges of the Rocky Mountains, which are locally composed of limestone and shale and have a toothlike appearance. Banff contains active glaciers, including the great Columbia Icefield to the north, and montane wetlands and meadows, such as the valleys of the Bow (Bow River) and Red Deer (Red Deer River) rivers. Tree species of the montane region include lodgepole pine, aspen, and, less commonly, black spruce. Englemann spruce and limber pine grow in the subalpine region, and hardier vegetation, such as the low-growing willow, inhabit the alpine zone. The park is home to the grizzly and black bear, wapiti (elk), moose, mule deer, wolf, cougar, mountain sheep, mountain goat, marmot, and an abundant bird population. Banff's Vermilion Lakes is an archaeological site with some of Canada's earliest known human remains, dating to 10,500 years ago.