Howse Pass was designated in 1978 to recognise the importance of this mountain pass as a travel route for the Ktunaxa First Nations who used it to reach bison herds east of the Rockies; the pass was used by the Canadian fur traders until 1810 to explore and establish posts west of the Rockies.
Howse Pass National Historic Site of Canada is an early 19th-century trans-mountain transportation route across the Rocky Mountains, in western Canada. The pass extends through a striking mountain landscape comprising a river, trail, trees, glaciers and lakes. The pass extends from the confluence of the Howse River with the Saskatchewan River in Banff National Park to the confluence of the Blaeberry River with the Columbia River in British Columbia. The pass, intersected at its eastern end by a modern highway development, extends across the inter-provincial border between British Columbia and Alberta and falls within both provinces.
