Eastend, Saskatchewan

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Town of Eastend
Town
Storefronts on main street Eastend
Nickname(s): Dinocountry
Location of Eastend in Saskatchewan
Coordinates: 49°19′N 108°29′W / 49.31°N 108.49°W / 49.31; -108.49
Country Canada
Province Saskatchewan
Region Saskatchewan
Census division 4
Rural Municipality White Valley
Post Office Founded 1914-01-01 [1]
Village Incorporated N/A
Town Incorporated N/A
Government
  Mayor Alan Howard
Area
  Total 2.71 km2 (1.05 sq mi)
Population (2006)
  Total 471
  Density 174.0/km2 (451/sq mi)
Time zone CST
Postal code S0N 0T0
Area code(s) 306
Highways Highway 13
Highway 18
Waterways
Website Eastend, Saskatchewan

Eastend is a town in southwest Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated approximately 55 kilometres (34 mi) north from the Montana border and 85 kilometres (53 mi) from the Alberta border. The town is best known for the nearby discovery of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton nicknamed "Scotty" in 1994. The town has used the discovery of this fossil as the main centrepiece in the construction of a museum called the T. rex Discovery Centre, which opened on May 30, 2000. The centre is operated by the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, and contains the RSM Fossil Research Station. A former resident of Eastend is the writer Wallace Stegner, who lived in the town between 1917 and 1921 and featured it as the village Whitemud in his book Wolf Willow.

Geography

Eastend is located south-east of the Cypress Hills, east from Ravenscrag Butte and south from Anxiety Butte. It lies at an elevation of 915 meters (3,002 ft), in the valley of the Frenchman River. The Eastend Reservoir was built upstream from the community.

Saskatchewan Highway 13 and highway 614 intersect in Eastend. The Canadian Pacific Railway tracks also pass through the town.

The Eastend Formation, a stratigraphical unit of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin was named for the town and was first defined in outcrops close to the settlement.

Demographics

Infrastructure

The Saskatchewan Transportation Company provides intercity passenger and parcel express service to Eastend.[4]

Attractions

Local Attractions:

  • T.rex Discovery Centre, a world class facility to house the fossil record of the Eastend area started many years before the discovery of "Scotty" the T.Rex in 1994.[5]

Regional Attractions:

  • Big Muddy Badlands, a series of badlands in southern Saskatchewan and northern Montana along Big Muddy Creek. They are found in the Big Muddy Valley, a cleft of erosion and sandstone along Big Muddy Creek. The valley is 55 kilometers (34 mi) long, 3.2 kilometers (2.0 mi) wide and 160 meters (520 ft) deep.[6] The valley was formed when it was part of an ancient glacial meltwater channel that carried great quantities of water southeastward during the last ice age.[7]
  • The Great Sandhills, is a sand dune rising 50 feet (15 m) above the ground and covering 1,900 square kilometers. Native prairie grass helps keep the sand together. The sand dunes are fringed by small groves of aspen, birch, and willow trees, and by rose bushes, chokecherry and sagebrush. Subjected to strong winds, the dunes are always moving, creating an ever-changing landscape for photographers.[9]
  • Robsart Art Works, opens July 1 to August 28, 2010 from 1 to 4 p.m. and by appointment and features Saskatchewan artists featuring photographers of old buildings and towns throughout Saskatchewan.[10]

Notable residents

  • George Haddad (1918–2010) - world renown pianist, who was born and raised in Eastend.[11]
  • Wallace Stegner- Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and environmentalist who lived in Eastend from 1917 and 1921
  • Sharon Butala - Canadian author who resides on a ranch outside of Eastend.
  • Séan Virgo - Poet and novelist who was born in Malta and has lived in South Africa, Malaya, Ireland, and the UK. His work has won various national and international awards.[citation needed]

References

  1. National Archives Postmaster Database
  2. "2011 Community Profiles". Canada 2011 Census. Statistics Canada. July 5, 2013. Retrieved 2012-10-30. 
  3. "2006 Community Profiles". Canada 2006 Census. Statistics Canada. March 30, 2011. Retrieved 2009-02-24. 
  4. STC Service Map
  5. T.rex Discovery Centre
  6. Yanko, Dave. "The Badlands". Virtual Saskatchewan. Retrieved 2010-05-11. 
  7. Harel, Claude-Jean (2006). "Big Muddy Valley". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Great Plains Research Center. Retrieved 2010-05-11. 
  8. Cypress Hills Vineyard & Winery
  9. Great Sandhills
  10. Robsart Art Works
  11. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0001484

External links

Coordinates: 49°31′N 108°49′W / 49.517°N 108.817°W / 49.517; -108.817

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