Southern Alberta Special Places:

Southern Alberta is one of the most ecological diverse areas in North America. Majestic mountains, rolling foothills, prairie 'badlands, forests, river valleys, wetlands, and native prairie untouched by development. The following is a list of some of the areas (with web links).

 

Since 1989, the CCWC has worked to restore and protect the Castle Wilderness in SW Alberta. The Castle Wilderness extends northward from Waterton Lakes National Park and is an essential part of one of the only two secure cross-border corridors linking wild species in Canada and the United States.
 

The Frank Slide Interpretive Centre highlights the rich history of the Crowsnest Pass amid the breathtaking beauty of the Canadian Rockies. Pathways around the Centre provide spectacular views of the Frank Slide and surrounding area.

 

The Alberta Birds of Prey Centre is Canada’s largest birds of prey facility. Situated on a 70-acre wetland area site our centre is a celebration of nature featuring the hawks, falcons, eagles and owls of Alberta. A "must-see" attraction delighting many visitors from around the world. An unforgettable wild experience.

 

Located at a place where the foothills of the Rocky Mountains meet the great plains, one of the world's oldest, largest and best preserved buffalo jump's known to exist -- Head-Smashed-In. Head-Smashed-In has been used continuously by aboriginal peoples of the plains for more than 5,500 years.

 

For over 7000 years, people visiting the Cypress Hills have recognized the unity and uniqueness of these uplands in the midst of Canada's Great Plains. With ecological feature, we also share a common history.

 

Nestled in the Oldman River Valley in Lethbridge, Alberta, the Helen Schuler Coulee Centre has been offering visitors a chance to experience nature first-hand since 1982. Deer, pelicans, porcupine, and hawks use the beautiful reparian forest as a safe habitat year round.

 

The Medicine Hat Centre has seasonal displays, live creatures, and a bones, fossil and insect collection. The Nature Library is extensive. Interpretive staff is always eager to provide information and assistance with any aspect of regional history. So come down today!

 

Rugged, windswept mountains rise abruptly out of gentle prairie grassland in spectacular Waterton Lakes National Park. Here, several different ecological regions meet and interact in a landscape shaped by wind, fire, flooding, and abundant plants and wildlife. In 1932, the park was joined with Montana's Glacier National Park to form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park - a world first.

 

Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park was designated an Archaeological Preserve to protect the largest concentration of rock art, created by Plains People, on the Great Plains of North America. There are over 50 rock art sites, with thousands of figures, as well as numerous archeological sites. The park has a reconstructed North-West Mounted Police Post located on its origional site.