Banff, Alberta, Canada Feb 16, 2026

Banff, Alberta, Canada

Banff in Alberta, Canada, didn"t grow quietly. It arrived with railways, hot springs and a vision: to protect places of rare beauty. In 1883, railway workers stumbled upon warm mineral water bubbling from Sulphur Mountain—an unlikely surprise in the cold sweep of the Rockies. The discovery drew attention quickly. By 1885, the surrounding land has been set aside as a protected reserve. What did that lead to? The beginnings of Banff National Park, Canada"s first, and a blueprint the country would return to again and again.

© Herbert Rong/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Why is this cliffside ablaze?
Feb 16, 2024Female pyrrhuloxia in Texas, USA
Feb 16, 2025Happy World Whale Day!

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Dec 2, 2023Angkor, Cambodia
Jan 21, 2025Eurasian red squirrel
Mar 20, 2026Spring equinox
Jun 28, 2025Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising
‘Only one Earth’
This lesson is going swimmingly
Apr 3, 2025Thiruvalluvar Statue, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu
Aug 22, 2025Rolling hills of the Palouse, Washington, United States
Jul 8, 2024Blueberries growing in the wild
Oct 22, 2024Palazzo Zuccari, Rome
Jun 3, 2024Jaswant Thada and Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
Oct 1, 2024Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Aug 6, 2025Ring-tailed lemur
Nothing says ‘San Francisco’ quite like...
Positively purple peaks
Feb 20, 2025Red deer, Canada
Take a hike!
Nov 10, 2025Black-tailed prairie dogs in Badlands National Park, United States
Apr 9, 2024Black bear cub emerges into spring
Mar 28, 2024Cherry blossoms in Shanghai, China
Jan 3, 2026J.R.R. Tolkien Day
Let the Great Backyard Bird Count begin!
Jan 1, 2024Happy New Year!
Mar 4, 2025Charminar, Hyderabad, Telangana
Oct 25, 2024Golden Temple, Amritsar
Sep 16, 2024Wallabies at sunrise, Australia
Sep 22, 2025Autumn equinox
So fresh, so clean
Where is this historical bridge?
Celebrating the Scottish bard