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The Grassland Region |
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Located in the southeastern corner of the province and comprising 14 percent, or approximately 30 million acres, of Alberta's total natural landscape is a region referred to as the Grasslands. Alberta's grasslands are part of the
Great Plains that stretch from the Gulf of Mexico, through the United States and into
Canada's prairie
provinces. |
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Rivers in the Grassland Natural Region are part of either the Saskatchewan River or Missouri River systems. Where valleys are carved deeply into bedrock, badlands have
developed, notably along the Red Deer River Valley. Numerous
coulees and ravines are associated with these river valley systems. Seven exposures of
igneous rock, all within the Milk River drainage, are the only igneous exposures in the grasslands of western Canada. With the exception of these isolated igneous outcrops, bedrock exposures are all of
sedimentary rocks and commonly occur along stream valleys. Despite the settlement and development that has occurred in the Grassland region, Alberta boasts two of the largest "wilderness" or undeveloped grasslands in Canada - Canadian Forces Base Suffield (north of Medicine Hat) and the Milk River-Lost River in the extreme southeast. For many, this region seems desolate - a vast stretch of land lying vacant. However, the grassland region is not comprised solely of undulating prairie. Because the region has been particularly marked by the advance and retreat of the glaciers it boasts an unexpected magnificence with its moraines, glacial lakes, ridges of sand dunes, valleys and canyons. Information provided by and printed with the permission of Alberta Community Development, Parks and Protected Areas.
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Updated August 14th, 2001 by KP |