The Natural Environment

The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof.

The concept of the natural environment can be distinguished by components:

* Complete ecological units that function as natural systems without massive human intervention, including all vegetation, animals, microorganisms, soil, rocks, atmosphere and natural phenomena that occur within their boundaries.

* Universal natural resources and physical phenomena that lack clear-cut boundaries, such as air, water, and climate, as well as energy, radiation, electric charge, and magnetism, not originating from human activity.

The natural environment is contrasted with the built environment, which comprises the areas and components that are strongly influenced by humans. A geographical area is regarded as a natural environment (with an indefinite article), if the human impact on it is kept under a certain limited level

Molson Park Drive

Park Place is a former park located at Highway 400 off Mapleview Drive East (formerly Molson Park Drive) in the south end of Barrie, Ontario, Canada.

Originally named Molson Park, the lands were formerly owned by the Molson brewery plant located nearby. Due to a change in inter-provincial alcohol production regulations, the Molson plant was closed and abandoned in September 2000. In late November 1999 in a last ditch effort to save their jobs, workers staged an occupation of the plant Following an end to the occupation, the lands were thereafter put on the market for sale, subsequently purchased by a commercial land developer and renamed 'Park Place'.

The former park was a popular open-air concert venue, having hosted 102.1 The Edge's Edgefest, Lollapalooza, and The Van's Warped Tour rock festivals. On July 2, 2005, Park Place welcomed 35,000 spectators to the Canadian portion of the Live 8 concert series - simultaneously held in 8 countries world wide to raise awareness of world hunger.

On January 12, 2004, the former Molson plant was found to be home to an illegal marijuana grow-op housing an estimated 30,000 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of $30 million; at the time, it was the largest marijuana grow-op bust in Canada's history.

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park is located in the U.S. state of Montana, bordering the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia to the North and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation to the East. Glacier National Park contains two mountain ranges, sometimes referred to as the southern extension of the Canadian Rockies mountain ranges, with over 130 named lakes, more than 1,100 different species of vascular plants and hundreds of species of animals. This vast pristine ecosystem, spread across 1,584 mi² , is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem", a region of protected land encompassing 16,000 mi² .

The famed Going-to-the-Sun Road, a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, traverses through the heart of the park and crosses the Continental Divide, allowing visitors breathtaking views of the rugged Lewis and Livingston mountain ranges, as well as dense forests, alpine tundra, waterfalls and two large lakes. Along with the Going-to-the-Sun Road, five historic hotels and chalets are listed as National Historic Landmarks, and a total of 350 locations are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Glacier National Park borders Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada—the two parks are known as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, and were designated as the world's first International Peace Park in 1932. Both parks were designated by the United Nations as Biosphere Reserves in 1976, and in 1995 as World Heritage sites.Glacier National Park also shares the northern boundary with the Akamina - Kishenena Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada.