Geography of Saskatchewan

Geography of Saskatchewan
Continent	America
Region	North America Western Canada
Coordinates	--
Area	651,900 km² (251,700 sq mi) 90.8% land 9.2 % water
Borders	Total land borders: U.S. states North Dakota; Canadian provinces Alberta, Manitoba and Northwest Territories
Highest point	Cypress Hills 1,468 metres (4,816 ft)
Lowest point	Lake Athabasca shoreline
Longest river	Saskatchewan River
Largest lake	Lake Athabasca 7935 km²

The geography of Saskatchewan (suskăch'uwun, –wän", săs"–), province (2001 pop. 978,933), 251,700 sq mi (651,900 km²), describes the land formations and physical features of this prairie province in western Canada. The various geographical branches provide an analysis of natural and human area studies. The changes of either the natural or human in an area will force an adaptation of evolution in relation to the various ecozones and terrain features. The physical land area is described by political boundaries which have changed through history. Cultural and technological changes have affected the adaptation of the human lifestyle with the regional environmental area throughout the history of Saskatchewan.

The name "Saskatchewan" is derived from the Cree word "kisiskaciwan" that means "swift flowing water" referring to the South Saskatchewan river which served as a major waterway in the eighteenth century by European explorers and fur traders. As a plains region, with the Central Lowlands to the south and wooded country in the north, it supports rich and varied wildlife, or zoogeography. The northern third is part of the Canadian Shield whereas the southwestern triangle is part of the Great Plains. Its principal rivers are the North and South Saskatchewan, the Churchill River, and the Qu'Appelle River.^[1] Moreover, between the Saskatchewan and Churchill rivers, locates a mixed forest belt that produces much timber.^[1] A sector of which is preserved as Prince Albert National Park.^[1] Saskatchewan's economy can be described as oil, gas, potash production, grains,coal, and livestock.^[1] Saskatchewan is surrounded, to the north in 1905 by the Provisional District of Mackenzie^[2] which later became the Northwest Territories, to the east by Manitoba, to the south by the United States' Montana, and to the west by Alberta.^[1]

The Cree Indians inhabited the plains and parkland region about five thousand years ago, living a first nation’s tribal lifestyle where the men followed the movement of bison livestock — a form of transhumance — and the women and children remained at home engaged in hunting and gathering activities. The Dene or caribou hunter resided in the northern Canadian Shield area.^[1] The Hudson's Bay Company controlled the area named Rupert's Land beginning in 1670. The French established settlements in the region c. 1750, though the Hudson’s Bay Company made the first permanent settlement in 1774. The Hudson’s Bay Co. ceded Rupert’s land in 1869, and by 1870, the North West became a member of the Dominion of Canada as a part of the Northwest Territories. From 1882 into the early 1900s, the extension of the railroad brought in large numbers of European settlers, as well during this period the bison virtually became extinct. The province was established in 1905.^[1][3] The biogeography of Saskatchewan's ecozones saw the development of agriculture science as plant cultivation combined with pastoralism or ranching settlements sprang up. Technological advancements resulted in the departure from subsistence techniques towards industrial agriculture and cash crops. As labour from the rural agricultural sector was not as intensive because of mechanization, other urban sectors have been developed such as business and market economic geographies as well as mineral economic geographies.^[4] Regina stands as its second largest city and capital.

Contents 1 Historical geography 2 Climate 3 Urban areas 4 Vegetation 5 Water 6 Land 7 National parks 8 Economic geography 8.1 Minerals 8.2 Agriculture 9 Economic overview 10 Additional information 11 See also 12 References

Historical geography

Original peoples of the Saskatchewan consist of three linguistics groups: the Athabascan, Algonquian, and Siouan. Henry Kelsey of the Hudson's Bay Company is considered the first European person to see this area.^[1] the earliest trading posts were made by the French; however, the first permanent settlement was established at Cumberland House in 1774 by the HBC. In addition, several more ports were set up by British fur traders among the area's waterways.^[1] Settlement was favoured in the forested area of the Canadian Shield, and hunting/ trapping was the main economy.

In 1870, the Hudson Bay's Company (HBC) had combined with the North West Company in 1821, and then ceded its rights from the Canadian government. The region became a part of the Northwest Territories. The majority of the Canadians of the indigenous descent in the Northwest Territories sold their lands to the government in the 1870s and was settled on reservations.^[1] Additional native peoples and Métis (people of mixed French and indigenous Canadian ancestry), led by Louis Riel rebelled between 1884 and 1885 and were suppressed.^[1]

The arrival of settlements and the rail lines also brought agricultural economies and development in the Central Lowlands Area. The Great Plains or Palliser Triangle area to the south was mainly used for ranching economies. In the beginning of the 20th century, Saskatchewan farmers created cooperative organizations to maintain grain marketization. During the drought and depression of the 1930s, the population decreased as immigration nearly ended and numerous families left. During World War II, conservation programs and the increased demand for grain survived the economy.^[1]

Climate

Saskatchewan climate can be described as temperate in the south and with cold winters in the north. The greatest rainfall occurs between April and June.^[5] Summers are hot and humid, dry with tedious hours of sunshine. plough winds, cyclones, Supercell hail or high precipitation rain storms and tornadoes are eventful summer occurrences. Midale has the hottest recorded temperature in Canada registering at 45 °C (113 °F) on July 5, 1937. Winter temperatures are frequently cold and snowy until late March, but sunny.^[5] Light to medium weights clothing during warmer months.^[5] Heavyweights are worn for the winter.^[5] Waterproof apparel is common throughout the year.^[5]

Annual precipitations ranges are of 320 to 450 mm in the southern portion (below about 54 degrees North) where the majority of the population live.^[6] The northern forest area is wetter in precipitation.^[6] In the far north there is few frost-free days and the subsoils remain frozen all around the year.^[6]

Location	Annual precipitation (mm)	Frost-free period (days)	Days above 5 °C
Saskatoon	347	118	1601
Regina	364	113	1661
North Battleford	368	122	1548
Prince Albert	406	95	1416
Estevan	418	128	1783
Kindersley	324	116	1592
Moose Jaw	357	122	1773
Swift Current	367	120	1583
Yorkton	436	112	1530[6]

Urban areas

Saskatchewan's capital is Regina. Its most populous city is Saskatoon. Other major cities include Estevan, Flin Flon (part), Humboldt, Lloydminster (part), Melfort, Melville, Moose Jaw, North Battleford, Prince Albert, Swift Current, Weyburn, and Yorkton

Vegetation

See also: Prairie

See also: Canadian Prairies

See also: Canada's landforms#The Canadian Shield

See also: Canada's landforms#The Interior Plains

See also: Canadian Shield

Saskatchewan has three major landforms, the Canadian Shield area north of the tree line, and grassland prairie plains or Central Lowlands that are treeless south of the tree line. The northern section is covered in lakes and trees. The Great Plains are shown in yellow on the geography of Saskatchewan image at the top of this page and the Saskatchewan portion has been known as the Palliser's Triangle.

Physiographic regions -with some of the area's main features^[9]

Physiographic Region	Bedrock Geology	Dominant soils	Natural Vegetation
Canadian Shield
Rock knob complex	Igneous rocks and Precambrian Missi Series	Lodzolic forest soils	Lichen woodland black spruce pine
Athabasca Plains	Precambrian Athabasca Formation	Rough rock land; bedrock exposures	pine
Central Lowlands
Manitoba Lowlands	Cretaceous formations	Chernozemic soils	Aspen fescue spear/wheat grass
Saskatchewan Plains	Cretaceous formations	Chernozemic soils	Aspen fescue spear/wheat grass
Great Plains
Alberta Plateau	Tertiary formations	Regozolic and solonetzic soil mixtures	spear grass / blue grama

Water

There are four main rivers which drain into the Hudson Bay watershed North and South Saskatchewan, the Churchill River, and the Qu'Appelle River.^[1] There are thousands of lakes across Saskatchewan, the main region being north of the tree line in the Canadian Shield.^[10]

• see also List of Saskatchewan rivers
• see also Lakes of Saskatchewan
• see also Lakes of Saskatchewan

The total area of freshwater is 59,366 km². ^[11]

Saskatchewan's principal rivers and their tributaries
Flowing into Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait

River	Drainage area (km²)	Length (km)
North Saskatchewan	12,800	1,287
South Saskatchewan (to head of Bow)	1144,300	1,392
Churchill (to head of Churchill Lake)	281,300	1,609
Beaver (to outlet of Beaver Lake)	4,700	336

Source Statistics Canada

Saskatchewan's principal lakes Canadian Shield with relevant information

Lake	Area (km²)	Altitude (m)	Depth (m)	Volume (km³)
Lake Athabasca	7,935	213
Reindeer Lake	6,650	337
Wollaston Lake	2,681	398
Cree Lake	1,434	487
Lac La Rouge	1,413	364
Peter Pond Lake	1,434	421
Doré Lake	640	459
Cold Lake

Sources Statistics Canada, WLD, anglersatlas.com

A few of Saskatchewan's scenic lakes Central Lowlands

Lake	Additional Information
Last Mountain Lake	156 km² (37,000 acres) of wetland and upland habitats maximum depth 30.8 m. National Wildlife Area [12]
Qu'Appelle Lakes	Calling Lakes / Katepwa Point Provincial Park[13]
Kenosee Lake	Moose Mountain Provincial Park[14]
Fishing Lake	Fishing Lake Regional Park[15]
Jackfish Lake	Meota Regional park[16]
Macklin Lake	Macklin Lake Regional Park[17]
Madge Lake	Mountain Duck Mountain Provincial Park [18]
Saltcoats Lake	Saltcoats Regional Park[19] [20]
Manitou Lake	Manitou Lake (A Division of Suffern Lake) Regional Park [21]
Big Quill Lake	Wynyard Beach Quill Lake
York Lake	York Lake Regional Park -Yorkton[22]
Great Manitou Lake	Mineral Lake[23]
Candle Lake	Provincial park[24]

^[25]

Land

The total area of land is 591,670 km²^[26]

Principal Height

• Cypress Hills 1,468 m
• Wood Mountain 1,013 m
• Vermilion Hills 785 m

Park

• see also Saskatchewan National parks
• see also Saskatchewan Provincial parks

National parks

This list includes the 36 national parks as of Feb. 2007.

Name	Location	Area (km²)	Year Estab'd	Remarks
Grasslands	Saskatchewan	&0000000000000907.000000907	1981
Prince Albert	Saskatchewan	&0000000000003874.0000003,874	1927

^[27]

Zoogeography

see also Fauna of Canada Zoogeography of mosquitoes for one example is under study by scientists to control the spread of West Nile Virus.^[28] The relation of Saskatchewan's biogeographical regions and the evolution of Bison and other endangered animals is another current focus of zoogeography.^[29]

Biogeography

see also: Grasses

• see also: List of the conifers of Canada
• see also: Trees

Biogeographical regions are homes to various varieties of grain and forage crops depending on zoil and climate classification. Trees, shrubs, plants and grasses are also indigenous to various regions depending upon the geographical ecozone.

Economic geography

Minerals

In the early twentieth century lignite coal for power and heating was Saskatchewan's chief mineral. Clay products and ceramics were viewed as the next valuable resource followed by the forestry industry for lumber and sodium sulphate for pulp and paper resources ^[30]

Preliminary Estimate of the Mineral Production of SK 2006
Metallic minerals
Copper	1,242	tonnes
Copper	9,601	$'000
Gold	1,505	kilograms
Gold	32,706	$'000
Selenium	3	tonnes
Selenium	172	$'000
Silver	119	$'000
Tellurium	28	$'000
Uranium (U)	9,781	tonnes
Uranium (U)	1,430,463	$'000
Zinc	541	tonnes
Zinc	1,901	$'000
Total, metallic minerals	1,474,990	$'000
Non-metallic minerals
Salt	1,132	kilotonnes
Salt	47,456	$'000
Sand and gravel (3), (5)	9,446	kilotonnes
Sand and gravel	37,071	$'000
Sulphur, elemental	165	kilotonnes
Sulphur, elemental	2,327	$'000
Total, non-metallic minerals	x	$'000
Fuels (6)
Coal	10,441	kilotonnes

^[31]

Agriculture

The census originated from Roman times as citizens and their property enumerated.^[32] Currently, the data collected in a national census is interpreted statistically and published in the benefit of the governments, corporations and private citizens for Canada. Federal and Provincial governments, whom are probably the largest census data users, use data in planning education and health care, fore taxes and much more.^[32]

The first Census of Canada was performed in 1666 by Jean Talon in the "Colony of New France".^[32] The document recorded age, sex, marital status and occupation of the 3215 citizens.^[32] By 1667, more details of livestock and property were done, displaying 3915 hectares of land under cultivation and 3107 cattle and 85 sheep. Since confederation the British North America Act provided the federal government to do census each 10 years beginning in 1871. At the turn of the century, the rapid expansion of Western Canada created a demand for agriculture information for more frequent intervals.^[32] A separate census for agriculture was then conducted every 5 years beginning in Manitoba in 1896,^[32] the entire territory of Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1906 and expanded to the rest of Canada in 1951. The census was conducted simultaneously, the population census began in 1951.^[32]

Business and markets

The total market value of Saskatchewan's farms estimated in 2001 was $33,463,911,487 in 2001 compared to the amount of $196,868,929,481 for all of Canada.^[32] Between 1995 and 2000, the cost farmer's received for their products declined by 4.6%, while the prices they paid for expenses such as fuel and fertilizer increased by 10%.^[32] In 2000, a farmer must spend 87 cents in order to make a dollar in farm gross receipts.^[32] Total farm gross receipts nationally were $38.3 billion in 2000, while operating expenses made $33.2 billion.

Farms and people

In 1941, the census showed 732,832 farms in Canada, the most farms since settlement began.^[32] Since then, the amount have been in decline steadily and are becoming greater. The 2001 census counted 246,923 farms for Canada, below 10.7% from 1996. In Saskatchewan the decline was 11.2%^[32]. The average Canadian farm grew by 11.2% larger, growing from 608 acres (2.5 km²) to 676 acres (2.7 km²) from 1996 to 2001. In 1996, the average farm size in Saskatchewan was 1,152 acres (5 km²). As the farm population continued to declined, in 1996 only 14% of the Province's population lived on a farm.^[32]

Number of farmers

	2001	1996	1991
Saskatchewan	50,598	56,995	60,840[32]
Canada	246,923	276,548	280,043

Most farms were grain and oilseed, however, the trend is to diversify with speciality crops and animals.^[32]

Land and crops

Nationally, 89.9 million acres (364,000 km²) of land was chop production in 2001.^[32]

Wheat still was Canada's largest crop with 26.8 million acres (108,000 km²) but the area has declined steadily since 1996 as more land was placed into pasture and fodder to support larger domestic animal populations.^[32] Several droughts also have helped to the decline of wheat production.^[32] Saskatchewan had shown a decline in 23.1% in area of land seeded wheat since the previous census.^[32] Oilseeds, pulses and speciality crops continued to increase as farmers diversified their crop production.

Livestock

Since 1996 and 2001 census showed that livestock numbers have increased to record levels cattle: up by 4.4%, pigs by 26.4%, and sheep by 46%.^[32] Beef cow numbers rose to 15.6 million head nationally. Saskatchewan had approximately 20% of the national herd with Alberta dominating at 43%.^[32]

At the turn of the century, the early 1900s saw settlers who needed to import their butter. By the roaring twenties dairy production in Saskatchewan not only filled domestic needs, but Saskatchewan dairy farmers were able to export to Britain.^[33] There were just more than 13.6% less dairy cows since 1996. There was an even bigger decline of 29.2% in the number of farms with dairy cows.^[32]

Albeit dairy cow numbers have been constantly declining, milk production, it had remained fairly constant.^[32] Increased production per dairy cow, has been achieved by improved breeding, feeding and milking methods, including a growth of three milkings per day from the traditional two by some operations.^[32]

The amount of hogs in Canada increased to 26.4% to a record 13.9 million, as farmers responded to strong export markets for live hogs and pork products. More than 5000 small big producers were leaving production since 1996. Hog Production, then dominated by large corporate enterprises. There in fact is more hogs than people.^[32]

There were 126.2 million hens and chickens in Canada in 2001: about 60% of them in Ontario and Quebec. For flock, 69% were raised for meat the rest for laying hens and pullets. The outreach was fueled by an increased demand for eggs (16 dozen per capita each year).^[32]

Over 1.3 million sheep were now on Canadian farms, an increase of over 50% from 1996 and much below the peak of 3.6 million in 1931. The sheep mainly were bred for meat production instead of wool. Lamb and mutton was very popular for ethnic production, specifically in the Toronto area.^[32]

Crops

According to the 2001 census the number of farms in Saskatchewan (50, 598) declined by 11.2% from the amounts reported from the prior census in 1996. Farms were fewer by 24.8 % a decade ago. In 1936, about seven decades ago the highest census for farms occurred and the number was 142,391.

Saskatchewan accounts for 20% of all Canadian farmers and has the largest farms with an average farm size of 1283 acres (up from 1,152 acres (5 km²) in the last census). The province had nearly 40% of the agricultural land in Canada, nearly 13 million acres (53,000 km²) more than second-place Alberta.

About 64.9 million acres (263,000 km²) of the province is farmland. Thirty-eight million acres (154,000 km²) were cropped in 2001.

Distribution of farmland:

1. Cropped: 38 million acres (154,000 km²)
2. Summer fallow: 7.7 million acres (31,000 km²)
3. Tame (seeded) pasture: 3.5 million acres (14,000 km²)
4. Natural pasture: 12.7 million acres (51,000 km²)
5. Other: 3.0 million acres (12,000 km²)

Spring wheat still dominated the prairie landscape, though the crop is losing ground to oilseeds and specialty crops.

The five major crops in 2001 were:

1. Spring wheat (10.7 million acres)
2. Barley (4.7 million acres)
3. Durum wheat (4.6 million acres)
4. Canola (4.3 million acres)
5. Alfalfa/alfalfa mixtures (2.8 million acres)

The numbers of large animals for 2001 were:

1. Cattle and calves (2.9 million)
2. Sheep and lambs (149,000)
3. Pigs (1.1 million)
4. Other animals (184,000)

The province also supported a large poultry industry with 9.7 million birds.

Farm Cash receipts for 2001
Farm Cash receipts accumulated to over $5.8 billion in 2001. Wheat accounted for 26% of the total and cattle 19%. Canola was the most significant crop after wheat and the pulse percentage and speciality crops were increasing. Dairy making continued in decline, while hog production was increasing.

Saskatchewan (GPD) (2002)
In 2002, Agriculture, fishing, and hunting accumulated for 6% of the Province's $28.1 billion GPD. The importance of agriculture however laid in the provinces exports. Without exports Saskatchewan would have the economy of a third world country. More than 73% of the GPD came from exports of goods and services.

Agriculture-food exports
Saskatchewan exported $4,152.2 million of agriculture and food products in 2000 making 32% of the total exports ($12,950.6 million). Agriculture and Food Products were declining majority as a contributor to exports (i.e. in 1997 over 50% of exports were agricultural). The USA, Japan, EU, and China dominated the list for 50% of their Agriculture-Food exports. The USA alone accounted for 23%.

Economic overview

Excluding a semi-arid area of the southwest used for grazing and the area in the east and central portion used for mixed farming and dairying, the land is dedicated to raising hard wheat. Saskatchewan usually produces ⅔s of Canada's wheat. The vast extensions of unbroken plain are well-suited to large-scale mechanized farming. Oats, barley, rye, rapeseed, and flax are also grown throughout the year. The historic process of fur trapping is still practiced.

Saskatchewan is rich in minerals. Oil and natural gas found beneath the prairie, prove to be one of the province's most important minerals. The area north of Lake Athabaska has been exploited for ores yielding uranium. The Flin Flon greenstone belt, a Paleoproterozoic greenstone belt around Flin Flon, in the northeast, is mined for copper, gold, and zinc. In the southwest, coal is mined. Potash mining began in the 1950s near Saskatoon and Esterhazy, and Canada is currently a leading producer of the mineral. The majority of the province's industries process raw materials.

Additional information

• Motto: Multis E Gentibus Vires (From many peoples strength)
• Saskatchewan is Canada’s fifth-largest province and has 44% of Canada’s farmland.
• Saskatchewan’s land mass is nearly 1/3 Precambrian rock; 1/3 agricultural land; 23% commercial forest and 12% lakes and rivers
• Shield: authorized by Royal Warrant of King Edward VII, 25 August 1906
• Coat of Arms: This is a crest, supporters, and motto was officially added to the Shield of Arms on 16 September 1986. It is an augmentation of the original Shield of Arms adopted by Royal Warrant of King Edward VII in 1906. It has a lion and a deer on it. The shield displays the royal lion and the three gold sheaves, that symbolize Saskatchewan agriculture.
• Flag: The green upper half represents the northern, the largely forested area of the province; the gold on the lower half represents the southern, the largely grain growing area. The flag is formally adopted in 1969.
• The state flower is a western red lily, lilium philadelphicum var. andinum, selected 1941
• The state bird is sharp-tailed grouse, pedioectes phasianellus jamesi, chosen in 1945.
• The state tree is white birch, betula papyrifera; chosen in 1988
• Mammal: White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, selected in 1988
• Provincial colours: green and gold

Weather

• Coldest recorded temperature: -57 °C at Prince Albert, 1 February 1893
• Hottest recorded temperature: 45 °C at Yellow Grass and Midale, 5 July 1937
• Average annual percentage of daylight with bright sunshine: 53.3
• Highest number of hours, bright sunshine: 2,701 at Estevan, 1980

See also

• The Saskatchewan Act
• Monarchy in Saskatchewan
• District of Assiniboia
• List of cities in Canada
• List of airports in Saskatchewan
• List of Saskatchewan general elections
• List of Saskatchewan lieutenant-governors
• List of Saskatchewan premiers
• List of Leaders of the Opposition in Saskatchewan
• List of communities in Saskatchewan
• List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols
• List of Saskatchewan rivers
• Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
• List of rural municipalities in Saskatchewan
• Saskatchewan Film and Video Classification Board
• Scouting in Saskatchewan

References

Subdivisions of Saskatchewan Subdivisions Census divisions · SARM divisions · Rural municipalities · Regions Communities Towns · Villages · Hamlets · Ghost towns · Indian reserves Cities Estevan · Flin Flon (part) · Humboldt · Lloydminster (part) · Melfort · Melville · Moose Jaw · North Battleford · Prince Albert · Regina · Saskatoon · Swift Current · Weyburn · Yorkton

Geography of the Provinces and territories of Canada National Geography of Canada • Canada's landforms Provinces British Columbia • Alberta • Saskatchewan • Manitoba • Ontario • Quebec • New Brunswick • Nova Scotia • Prince Edward Island • Newfoundland and Labrador Territories Yukon • Northwest Territories • Nunavut See also Regions of Canada • Islands • Rivers • Lakes • Mountains • National Parks • Volcanoes