Cascade Gardens in Banff, Alberta
The town of Banff was named so in 1905 after a town in Banffshire, Scotland. First Nations people had their own names for the place. For example, the Blackfoot called it “Nato-oh-sis-koom” which means “holy springs” – referring to the hot springs in the area. The Cree called Banff “Nipika-Pakitik” and the Stoney called it “Minihapa”. Both of these names are said to refer to the waterfalls on Cascade Mountain just outside of the Banff town site. Finally, in Sarcee, Banff was called “Tsa-nidza” which means “in the mountains”.