The region has a cool montane climate that varies considerably with location and elevation. Summers are moderately warm, with daytime highs in July and August of about 72 °F (22 °C) at the town of Banff and frequent afternoon thundershowers.
Banff National Park trends northwest to southeast along the line of the Canadian Rockies between Alberta and British Columbia. Its terrain is largely rugged and mountainous, a sizable portion of it consisting of high alpine peaks of the Main Ranges section of the Rockies, particularly in its western section along the Continental Divide. Most of the rest of the land is designated as subalpine or montane landscape and lies in the Front Ranges.
