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Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park is an interprovincial park straddling the southern
AlbertaAlberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south....
-
SaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of and a population of 1,023,810 , mostly living in the southern half of the province. Of these, 233,923 live in the province's largest city, Saskatoon, while 194,971 live in the provincial capital, Regina...
border, located southeast of
Medicine HatMedicine Hat, known to locals as "The Hat", is a city of 61,097 people located in the southeastern part of the province of Alberta, Canada. It is enclaved within Cypress County along with the nearby town of Redcliff, although neither is part of the county....
. It was
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's first interprovincial park.
The park consists of two protected areas, the west block, that straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan border between Alberta Highway 41, the townsite of
ElkwaterElkwater is a community at the western edge of the Cypress Hills in southeastern Alberta, Canada, southeast of Medicine Hat. The main access route is via Alberta Highway 41 , which leads south from the Trans Canada Highway....
,
Saskatchewan Highway 615Highway 615 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Highway 13/Highway 21 near Senate to Highway 271. Highway 615 is about 48 km long.Highway 615 also passes near the communities of West Plains, Battle Creek, and Merryflat....
,
Saskatchewan Highway 271Highway 271 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Highway 21 until Battle Creek Road, Fort Walsh, within the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. Highway 271 is about 52 km long....
and
Fort Walsh, and the east block, an additional area of in Saskatchewan, west of
Saskatchewan Highway 21Highway 21 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Montana Secondary Highway 233 at the United States border near Willow Creek to Highway 950/Highway 919 within the Meadow Lake Provincial Park. Highway 21 is about 722 km long.Highway 21 passes through the major...
.
The Cypress Hills plateau rises up to 200 metres above the surrounding
prairiePrairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
, to a maximum elevation of , making it Canada's highest point between the
Canadian RockiesThe Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
and the
Labrador peninsulaLabrador Peninsula is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the south-east...
and also the highest point in Saskatchewan.
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Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park is an interprovincial park straddling the southern
AlbertaAlberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south....
-
SaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of and a population of 1,023,810 , mostly living in the southern half of the province. Of these, 233,923 live in the province's largest city, Saskatoon, while 194,971 live in the provincial capital, Regina...
border, located southeast of
Medicine HatMedicine Hat, known to locals as "The Hat", is a city of 61,097 people located in the southeastern part of the province of Alberta, Canada. It is enclaved within Cypress County along with the nearby town of Redcliff, although neither is part of the county....
. It was
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's first interprovincial park.
The park consists of two protected areas, the west block, that straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan border between Alberta Highway 41, the townsite of
ElkwaterElkwater is a community at the western edge of the Cypress Hills in southeastern Alberta, Canada, southeast of Medicine Hat. The main access route is via Alberta Highway 41 , which leads south from the Trans Canada Highway....
,
Saskatchewan Highway 615Highway 615 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Highway 13/Highway 21 near Senate to Highway 271. Highway 615 is about 48 km long.Highway 615 also passes near the communities of West Plains, Battle Creek, and Merryflat....
,
Saskatchewan Highway 271Highway 271 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Highway 21 until Battle Creek Road, Fort Walsh, within the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. Highway 271 is about 52 km long....
and
Fort Walsh, and the east block, an additional area of in Saskatchewan, west of
Saskatchewan Highway 21Highway 21 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Montana Secondary Highway 233 at the United States border near Willow Creek to Highway 950/Highway 919 within the Meadow Lake Provincial Park. Highway 21 is about 722 km long.Highway 21 passes through the major...
.
Geography
The Cypress Hills plateau rises up to 200 metres above the surrounding
prairiePrairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
, to a maximum elevation of , making it Canada's highest point between the
Canadian RockiesThe Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
and the
Labrador peninsulaLabrador Peninsula is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the south-east...
and also the highest point in Saskatchewan. The "West Block" of the Cypress Hills spans the provincial border.
Battle CreekBattle Creek is a stream that begins in southeastern Alberta along the border with Saskatchewan, in the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.It flows into the Milk River in Montana...
runs through the central part of the park. Although the hills seem relatively short, in a larger geographic context the plateau does rise gradually from many kilometres away so that the total elevation gain from Medicine Hat is approximately 600 metres.
Nature
Approximately 700 species of plants and animals thrive in the park, including 14 species of
orchidOrchidaceae, the Orchid family, is the largest family of the flowering plants . Its name is derived from the genus Orchis....
s.
The park protects the majority of the Cypress Hills
landscapeLandscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including physical elements such as landforms, living elements of flora and fauna, abstract elements like lighting and weather conditions, and human elements like human activity and the built environment.-Etymology:The word landscape...
, which consists of three separate elevated blocks of lush
forestA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on the various criteria. These plant communities presently cover approximately 9.4% of the Earth's surface in many different regions and function as habitats for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators,...
and fescue
grasslandGrasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
surrounded by dry mixed-grass
prairiePrairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
. The "west block" and "centre block" are protected as provincial parks, and are managed by Alberta Parks and Protected Areas and Saskatchewan Parks, respectively. The "east block" of the Cypress Hills, situated near Eastend, Saskatchewan, is not part of the park. The
Fort Walsh National Historic Site is also located in the park's limits.
Activities
On the Alberta side of the west block, key park features include Head of the Mountain, the
ElkwaterElkwater is a community at the western edge of the Cypress Hills in southeastern Alberta, Canada, southeast of Medicine Hat. The main access route is via Alberta Highway 41 , which leads south from the Trans Canada Highway....
townsite (a
cottageIn modern usage, a cottage is a modest dwelling, typically in a rural, or semi-rural location...
community sitting at the same elevation as the
BanffBanff is the largest town in Banff National Park, in Alberta's Rockies, Canada. It is also the first incorporated municipality located within a national park in Canada. At , it is the town with the highest elevation in Canada...
townsite), Horseshoe Canyon and Reesor Lake viewpoints (offering 100 km views on a clear day), over 50 km of
hikingHiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking have been confirmed in studies...
and
mountain bikingMountain biking is an ever evolving sport that has recently seen a huge flux of popularity but has firm roots in experimentation with non "mountain" style bicycles. The sport consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, with specially equipped mountain bikes or hybrid / cross...
trails, and Hidden Valley Ski Area. Three lakes sit on the Alberta side of the park (
Elkwater LakeElkwater Lake is a small lake in southeastern Alberta, Canada.It is located in the northwest corner of the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, along the Buffalo Trail...
, Spruce Coulee Reservoir and Reesor Lake), with another three in Saskatchewan (Harris, Adams and Coulee Lake).
All year long, park interpreters present education programs to school and youth groups, adult and seniors groups, and a wide range of park visitors.
History
- 1951 - The Cypress Hills Provincial Park was established in Alberta.
- 1989 - On August 25, the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan signed an agreement committing themselves to cooperation on ecosystem
An ecosystem is a system of interdependent organisms which share the same habitat, in an area functioning together with all of the physical factors of the environment. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs...
management, education and park promotion.
- 2000 - Fort Walsh National Historic Site (located on the Saskatchewan side of the West Block) joined the collective. Together, these three partner agencies make up the park. Both Alberta and Saskatchewan provincial governments signed the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park agreement, establishing the first interprovincial park in Canada.
See also
External links