Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park
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| Cypress Hills Provincial Park | |
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| IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) | |
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| Location: | Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Nearest city: | Medicine Hat, Maple Creek |
| Coordinates: | |
| Established: | 1951 (Alberta), 1989 (interprovincial) |
| Governing body: | GRF Management Ltd., on behalf of Alberta Community Development and Saskatchewan Provincial Parks |
Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park is an interprovincial park straddling the southern Alberta-Saskatchewan border, located southeast of Medicine Hat. It is Canada's only interprovincial park.
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[edit] Geography
The Cypress Hills rise up to 600 meters above the surrounding prairie, to a maximum elevation of 1,468 metres (4,816 feet), making it Canada's highest point between the Rocky Mountains and the Labrador peninsula and also the highest point in Saskatchewan[1]. The "West Block" of the Cypress Hills spans the provincial border. Battle Creek runs through the central part of the park.
[edit] Nature
Approximately 700 species of plants and animals thrieve in the park, including 14 species of orchids.
The park protects the majority of the Cypress Hills landscape, which consists of three separate elevated blocks of lush forest and fescue grassland surrounded by dry mixed-grass prairie. The "west block" and "centre block" are protected as provincial parks, and are managed by Alberta Parks and Protected Areas[2] and Saskatchewan Parks[3], 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.
[edit] Activities
On the Alberta side of the west block, key park features include Head of the Mountain, the Elkwater townsite (a cottage community sitting at the same elevation as the Banff townsite), Horseshoe Canyon and Reesor Lake viewpoints (offering 100 km views on a clear day), over 50 km of hiking and mountain biking trails, and Hidden Valley Ski Area (Canada's Prairie Sno-asis). Three lakes sit on the Alberta side of the park (Elkwater Lake, 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.
[edit] History
- 1951 - The Cypress Hills Provincial Park was established in Alberta.
- 1989 - On August 25, the governments of Alberta[4] and Saskatchewan[5] signed an agreement committing themselves to cooperation on ecosystem 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.
[edit] See also
- List of Alberta provincial parks
- List of Saskatchewan parks
- List of Canadian provincial parks
- List of Canadian national parks
[edit] References
- ^ Statistics Canada - Highest points by province
- ^ Alberta Parks and Protected Areas
- ^ Saskatchewan Parks
- ^ Alberta Community Development - Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park page
- ^ Saskatchewan Government - Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park page
