Beaver Hills (Alberta)

Edit links
Coordinates: 53°28′N 112°49′W / 53.467°N 112.817°W / 53.467; -112.817
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A map of the Waskahegan Trail system. The green areas on the right are, from north to south, Elk Island National Park, the Blackfoot Recreation Area, and Miquelon Lake Provincial Park (north and south blocks).

The Beaver Hills (

glacial moraines and depressions filled with small lakes. The landform lies partly within five different counties, Strathcona, Leduc, Beaver, Lamont and Camrose. The area is relatively undeveloped compared to the surrounding region, and is protected in part by Elk Island National Park, the Cooking Lake–Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area, the Ministik Bird Sanctuary, Miquelon Lake Provincial Park and a number of smaller provincial natural areas.[1] Since 2016 Beaver Hills has been a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve.[2]

Natural history

Hastings Lake from the south

The "hills" are very low and

last ice age. Being at a slightly higher elevation, the bedrock in what would become the hills was only briefly covered by glacial Lake Edmonton, which deposited a thick layer of silt on the rest of the region (the basis of the modern agricultural soils now found in the areas around the hills), but left mostly gravel and boulder-sized debris on the hills, along with much water in the depressions left behind by ice and stone during the preceding glacial era.[3]

The vegetation is typically of part of the

boreal forest natural subregion, a transitional zone on the south edge of the boreal forest, but is surrounded by aspen parkland. This island of boreal forest in the south means that both boreal animal species (moose, black bear, Canada lynx) and grassland animal species (sharp-tailed grouse, mule deer) live in the region.[1] Nearby landscapes include Beaverhill Lake just to the east, and the North Saskatchewan River
to the north.

Human history

Indigenous peoples and fur trade history

As a well-wooded and watered area near to more open grasslands, the Beaver Hills were an important camping place for nomadic peoples making a seasonal migration between the plains and the hills. It was a place that Indigenous people "could replenish and recoup after spending extended periods on the plains, a place where they could hunt, fish, and gather other needed resources".[4] Because the hills were not ploughed under, unlike the rest of region, much archaeological evidence remains here, including 227 Indigenous sites recorded by Parks Canada in Elk Island Park alone.[when?]

The

buffalo pounds. The beaver and other game species in the area eventually became trapped out
, and they largely abandoned the area as a permanent home, though continued to travel through the area.

Two major Indigenous and fur trade trails border the hills, the

Joseph B. Tyrell of the Geological Survey of Canada in the 1880s.[6]

Initial reserve development

This is one of oldest protected areas in Canada, having originally been a forest reserve set aside by the federal

Crown lands in Alberta passed from the federal government to the provincial government, Elk Park became formalized as a national park while the rest of the Cooking Lake Forest Reserve became a provincial responsibility.[7][8]

Later development

In 2002 the Beaver Hills Initiative was created to coordinate land-use planning in the municipalities in the area surrounding the protected parks. This resulted in a scheme of tradable development credits.

dark sky preserve by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.[10] In 2016 it was named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Ecological Primer – What Makes the Beaver Hills So Special?" (PDF). Beaver Hills Initiative. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 19, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  2. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-s-beaver-hills-great-bear-lake-in-n-w-t-join-unesco-biosphere-network-1.3501479 Alberta's Beaver Hills, Great Bear Lake in N.W.T. join UNESCO Biosphere Network, CBC, The Canadian Press Bob Weber, March 16, 2021
  3. ^ Macdonald, pp. 9-12
  4. S2CID 162037352
    .
  5. ^ "History". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  6. ^ MacDonald, pp. 1-9
  7. ^ a b "History". Do The Blackfoot. Archived from the original on February 5, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  8. ^ "The Chronology of Elk Island National Park". Parks Canada. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  9. ^ "Who we are". Beaver Hills Initiative. Archived from the original on February 19, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  10. ^ "Beaver Hills Dark Sky Preserve". Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  11. ^ "Two Canadian sites join UNESCO biosphere network". CTV News. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.

Further reading

53°28′N 112°49′W / 53.467°N 112.817°W / 53.467; -112.817

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beaver_Hills_(Alberta)&oldid=1190224604"