加拿大洛基山脉 Rockies

　　Banff has has about 10，000 residents， and only recently became its own incorporated municipality （the first inside a National Park）。 Banff receives about 6 million vistors each year！ 加拿大的Banff虽然只有一万人口，却每年接待多达六百万的游客。

　　Location 位置

　　Banff is located in Alberta， about 100 kilometres west of Calgary， and nestled just inside the Rocky Mountain. The National Park around the town covers and area of 6， 641 square kilometres （2， 564 square miles）。 The town is at 51？0' north latitude， 115？3' west longitude. We are in Mountain standard time， two hours earlier than Toronto and New York， and 8 hours earlier than western Europe.

　　Alberta is the most westerly of Canada's three prairie provinces and home to 2.5 million friendly people living around its 661， 185 square kilometres （264， 474 square miles）。 The province is about the same area as Texas or twice the size of Japan.

　　Economy 经济

　　Tourism drives Banff's economy. The 3.5 million annual visitors to Banff National Park [879， 000 of them alpine skiers] spend almost $290 million every year. Other than servicing the permanent residents of Banff， there is no other industry， since no other industry is allowed in the National Park.

　　Weather 气候

　　Daytime and nighttime temperatures can differ widely， because of the Canadian Rockies's dry air （there is little atmospheric moisture to slow temperature swings） and its mountain elevation.

　　In the summer， overnight temperatures often drop close to freezing （the Canadian Rockies can get snow in ANY month of the year）， yet reach daytime highs of 30° C （90° F） by noon. In the winter time， "chinook" winds can raise the temperatures as much as 50° C （100° F） over a few hours， evaporating snow so fast that the slush stage is skipped.

　　Dress with multiple layers no matter what the time of year or the weather forecast. Because of the dry air， it's a good idea to use skin moisturizers and lip lubricants. 早晚温差很大，　白天可能30° C，而夜晚却接近冰冻的温度

　　Tipping 小费

　　Some hotels include tips or gratuities with group programs to simplify bookkeeping. This will usually include gratuities for housekeeping， bell service and food service. In a hotel， bell service should be tipped about $1 per bag， and housekeeping $1 to $5 dollars a day （in proportion to your room rate）。 Visitors should know that the standard tip in restaurants is 10%-15%， with 20% for very outstanding service. This is especially important for visitors from countries where tipping on meals is not done： here the waitering staff depend on tips for a significant portion of their incomes. Tip a similar proportion for taxis， or at least round fares up to the nearest dollar. 在饭店里吃饭的小费一般是10%-15%，而20%则是非常好的服务了。