Jasper National Park is an international travel destination, world heritage site and icon of Canadian identity. In this book, the author draws on postcards, illustrated brochures, tourist snapshots, and other forms of visual culture to show how popular forms of picturing nature can have ecological implications that extend far beyond the frame of the image.
Adopting an ecocritical approach to visual culture, Cronin focusses on four themes - wilderness, recreation, wildlife and fake nature - to trace how park and government officials, railway companies, journalists and environmentalists package Jasper as a series of breathtaking vistas where adorable-looking animals live. In the process, they sever the scenes from their larger contexts and mask the real threats to the park's ecosystems.