The Caribou Mountains are a mountain range in Northern Alberta , Canada, surrounding a saucer-shaped elevated plateau that rises 700 m (2,300 ft) above the surrounding lowlands. The Caribou Mountains reach an elevation of up to 1,030 m (3,380 ft), making them the highest in northern Alberta. They rise north of the lower Peace River and are bounded to the north and east by Wood Buffalo National Park . The area was unglaciated during the last glacial period . The Caribou Mountains were affected by the 2024 Semo Lake Complex fire, which burned large portions of the plateau.
16-501: Caribou Mountains can refer to: Caribou Mountains (Alberta) a mountain range in Alberta, Canada Caribou Mountains Wildland Park , a park within these mountains Caribou Mountains (Idaho) a mountain range in Idaho, United States See also [ edit ] Caribou Mountain (disambiguation) Cariboo Mountains a mountain range of
32-407: A singular gray fox ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus ) was recorded close to Lake Athabasca , and multiple vagrant birds including northern cardinals ( Cardinalis cardinalis ), wandering tattlers ( Tringa incana ), and northern wheatears ( Oenanthe oenanthe) . Alberta also has reports of wild boars ( Sus scrofa ) coming into the province. Highway 43 and Highway 2 pass through the southwest of
48-635: Is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta . An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the centre of the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor , including most of the province's landmass as well as its capital, Edmonton . Other schemes place Edmonton and its surrounding farmland in Central Alberta , limiting Northern Alberta to
64-611: Is also used by the University of Alberta to define eligibility for northern research grants. The region consists of aspen parkland in the south, grading to boreal forest and muskeg in the north. The southwest of the region is part of the Peace Country , an area that stretches into northeastern British Columbia consisting of fertile prairie , ranchland , and farmland along the Peace River and its tributaries. Northern Alberta
80-769: Is conserved by the Caribou Mountains Wildland Park . The adjacent Wood Buffalo National Park is Canada's largest protected area. Other tourist attractions in Northern Alberta include the Fort McMurray Historical Society-Heritage Park, Historic Dunvegan , Kimiwan Birdwalk and Interpretive Centre, Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory in the Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park , Muskoseepi Park , Kakwa Wildland Provincial Park , Willmore Wilderness Park and
96-706: Is crossed by the Peace River and the Athabasca River , both of which eventually convene to form the Slave River that ultimately drains into the Arctic Ocean via Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River within the Northwest Territories . Other major rivers are Wapiti , Smoky , Hay , Chinchaga , Petitot Rivers in the west, Wabasca River in the centre and Firebag , Beaver and Clearwater River in
112-601: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Caribou Mountains (Alberta) Because of their unique environment, the Caribou Mountains Wildland Park (5,910 km (2,280 sq mi)) was created in 2001 as part of the Special Places program. The largest provincial wildland park in the province, its fragile ecosystem contains sensitive wetlands , permafrost habitat and rich bird breeding habitat. "A population of up to 120 wood bison , an endangered species, lives in
128-1136: The Oil Sands Discovery Centre. Northern Alberta contains several diamond bearing diatremes associated with kimberlite fields, including the Buffalo Head Hills and Birch Mountains kimberlite fields which in turn form the Northern Alberta kimberlite province . Animals of Northern Alberta include the Mackenzie Valley gray wolf ( Canis lupus occidentalis ), British Columbian red fox ( Vulpes vulpes abietorum ), fishers ( Pekania pennanti ), American black bear ( Ursus americanus ), northwestern moose ( Alces alces anderson i), white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), wood bison ( Bison bison athabascae ), groundhogs ( Marmota monax canadensis ), northern coyotes ( Canis latrans incolatus ), wolverines ( Gulo gulo ), and mountain lions ( Puma concolor ). Multiple elusive and out-of-range animals have been reported in this region, including
144-698: The Wentzel Lake area in small groups of up to 15 animals." The region is an upland region surrounded by lowlands, but both are forested and are considered part of the Boreal Plains Ecozone by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and the Mid-Continental Canadian forests by the World Wildlife Fund . Due to it being unchanged by the glaciers, the mountains have similar habitat to
160-530: The boreal forests of this region. As of 2023, the region had a population of approximately 374,572. Various definitions exist of Northern Alberta's boundaries. The definition used by the Northern Alberta Development Council, an agency of the provincial government, includes the communities of Whitecourt , Athabasca , Saddle Lake , St. Paul , and Cold Lake , while excluding Hinton , Edson , Mayerthorpe , and Westlock . This definition
176-675: The Columbia Mountains, British Columbia Cariboo Mountains Provincial Park , a park within these mountains Cariboo Heart Range [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caribou_Mountains&oldid=1250255582 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
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#1732845057159192-429: The arctic tundra further north, leading to it hosting a unique array of species not found in other parts of Alberta. The Caribou Mountains is the only location in Alberta where red-necked phalarope , grey-cheeked thrush , American tree sparrow , red-throated loon , and common redpoll breed. "The Park contains relatively undisturbed and lichen-rich forests, favoured habitat for woodland caribou . About 80 percent of
208-474: The east. Alberta's two largest waterbodies, Lake Athabasca and Lake Claire are located in the wetlands of northeastern Alberta , forming the Peace-Athabasca Delta , that drains through the Slave River towards the Arctic Ocean . The Caribou Mountains are an elevated plateau in the relatively flat Albertan north which provide core habitat for an endangered woodland caribou herd. This area
224-497: The northern half of the province, where forestry , oil, and gas are the dominant industries. Its primary industry is oil and gas , with large heavy oil reserves being exploited at the Athabasca oil sands and Wabasca area in the east of the region. Natural gas is extracted in Peace region and Chinchaga - Rainbow areas in the west, and forestry and logging are also developed in
240-502: The range of an important population of woodland caribou is contained within the Park, and about a third of Alberta's population of this threatened species is dependent on the Park." 59°11′32″N 115°35′33″W / 59.19222°N 115.59250°W / 59.19222; -115.59250 This Northern Alberta location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Northern Alberta Northern Alberta
256-613: The region, this being the end of the CANAMEX corridor. Other important routes are the Mackenzie Highway and Bicentennial Highway in the northwest, the Northern Woods and Water Route in the southeast and Highway 63 in the east. Grande Prairie Airport , Peace River Airport , Fort Vermilion (Wop May Memorial) International Airport and Fort McMurray Airport are regional air transportation hubs. Northern Alberta's health region
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