Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta . In 2016, the region's population was approximately 291,112. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat . The region is known mostly for agricultural production , but other sectors, such as alternative energy , film production and tourism, are emerging.
34-502: Three Hills is a town in southern Alberta , Canada. It takes its name from the three somewhat-larger-than-normal hills to its north. Three Hills post office dates from 1904. Three Hills was incorporated as a village in 1912, the year it was moved to its current location on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway line running between Tofield and Calgary . With ranchers and farmers constituting its first residents, it soon became
68-586: A 0.4% change from its 2011 population of 3,198. With a land area of 6.75 km (2.61 sq mi), it had a population density of 475.9/km (1,232.5/sq mi) in 2016. The Town of Three Hills' 2012 municipal census counted a population of 3,230, a 2.8% decrease from its 2008 municipal census population of 3,322. Three Hills offers much to its community, including the Three Hills Municipal Library, Aquatic Centre, Centennial Place hockey arena, curling rink, campground, Three Hills Golf Club, and
102-504: A rancher who resided north of the lakes, wrote Pearce referencing his 1886 report and suggested the area be turned into a park reserve. Pearce forwarded the proposal, noting the land had no value for agricultural and minimal grazing potential. Minister of the Interior Thomas Mayne Daly came across the proposal and directed a park reserve be created in the area. Finally, on May 30, 1895, Order-in-Council 1895-1621 established
136-626: A 140 km (54 sq mi) unnamed forest park under the Dominion Lands Act . While oil had been found in the area since the late 1880s, the government began approving reservation and sales of land for prospecting in 1898. In 1901, John Lineham of Okotoks organized the Rocky Mountain Drilling Company. In 1902, he drilled the first oil exploration well in Alberta on the site of oil seeps near Cameron Creek . Despite
170-472: A centre for the surrounding wheat-growing area. In 1922, Prairie Bible Institute (now named Prairie College) was established in Three Hills with L. E. Maxwell as its first principal. This occurrence helped to increase the population of the town proper and its adjacent settlements. By the mid 1980s, the 0.53 km (130-acre) college campus and the nearby hamlets of Grantville and Ruarkville were annexed to
204-560: A diverse ecosystem. Operated by Parks Canada , Waterton is open all year, but the main tourist season is during July and August. The only commercial facilities available within the park are located at the Waterton Park townsite. This park ranges in elevation from 1,290 metres (4,232 ft) at the townsite to 2,910 m (9,547 ft) at Mount Blakiston . It offers many scenic trails, including Crypt Lake trail . In 2012/2013, Waterton Lakes National Park had 402,542 visitors. The park
238-583: A narrow band along the eastern edge of the foothills of Alberta from Calgary to Waterton and into parts of the United States. There are over 1000 species of vascular plants found in the park. Over 20 species are endemic to the park such as Lewis' mock-orange and white-veined wintergreen . Over 50 species of plants that are found the park are rare in Canada such as Bolander's quillwort , Lyall's scorpionweed, and Brewer's monkeyflower . Waterton Lakes National Park
272-478: A new 1,600-square-metre (17,000 sq ft) facility, opened in 2020, the Prairie Tabernacle now stands adjacent to Prairie Christian Academy about five blocks east of the college campus. Because of the development of nearby methane fields, the food and lodging industries in Three Hills have grown considerably over the past few years. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada ,
306-456: A small recovery of 34° API sweet oil , neither this well nor seven later exploration attempts resulted in production. The oil well and surrounding area was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1965. By 1905, more than half of the sections of land compromising the park had been sold or reserved for oil exploration. On September 21, 1905, Frederick William Godsal wrote the Secretary of
340-616: Is a rare occurrence in geology. Under the Proterozoic layer, there is a layer dating from the Upper Cretaceous which is mainly composed of schist . Although there are no glaciers left in Waterton, aside from a few expanses of eternal snow, the landscape has been greatly shaped by the Wisconsin glaciation . The park has many glacial troughs , the hanging valleys , the ridge , the cirque ,
374-487: Is also home to small ferns called moonworts and the Waterton moonwort is endemic to the park. Animals that inhabit this national park include wolverines , bighorn sheep , bald eagles , white-tailed deer , mule deer , mountain goats , elk , moose , foxes , timber wolves , bison , coyotes , beavers , river otters , cougars , lynxes , bobcats , snowshoe hares , pikas , hoary marmots , grizzly bears and black bears . Many bird species nest or migrate through
SECTION 10
#1732852525627408-618: Is in the northern Great Plains region, lined to the east from the Canadian Rocky Mountains and their foothills. The rest of the region is dominated by the semi-arid prairies of the Palliser's Triangle , where farms and ranches have been built, often with the help of irrigation . Rivers generally flow from west to east and include the Oldman River , Bow River , Red Deer River , South Saskatchewan River , and Milk River . Milk River
442-712: Is in the southwest corner of Alberta , Canada. The national park borders Glacier National Park in Montana , United States. Waterton was the fourth Canadian national park, formed in 1895 as Kootenay Lakes Forest Reserve . It is named after Waterton Lake , in turn after the Victorian naturalist and conservationist Charles Waterton . Its range is between the Rocky Mountains and the Prairies . This park contains 505 km (195 sq mi) of rugged mountains and wilderness. It has
476-447: Is the only river in Canada that eventually flows into the Gulf of Mexico . The environment is protected in such areas as Waterton Lakes National Park and Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park , while sites such as Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump , Dinosaur Provincial Park and Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park were declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites . The Alberta Badlands are developed in
510-403: Is the subject of a short film in 2011's National Parks Project , directed by Peter Lynch and scored by Cadence Weapon , Laura Barrett and Mark Hamilton . William Pearce , a Dominion Land Surveyor , was the first to suggest a park be established in the vicinity of Waterton Lakes in his 1886 annual report, although no action was taken by the government. In 1893, Frederick William Godsal,
544-478: The Municipal District of Kerr No. 39 and the Municipal District of Castle River No. 40 prior to 1944. Following a partial amalgamation of the two municipal districts, remnant unsurveyed lands within the park were incorporated as Improvement District (ID) No. 11 on January 1, 1944. It was renumbered to ID No. 8 on April 1, 1945, and again to ID No. 4 on January 1, 1969. The Waterton-Glacier International
578-508: The kame and esker . Since the end of the last ice age, the Cameron and Blakiston rivers have formed two alluvial fans at their mouths. Waterton Lakes National Park spans four ecoregions , foothills parkland , montane , subalpine and alpine . Waterton is the only National Park in Canada with the foothills parkland ecoregion, which comprises approximately 10 percent of the Park and occupies
612-547: The Canadian Rockies, whose sedimentary strata are more or less inclined, the Waterton sediments are characterized by a single overlap. The Lewis Overthrust allowed sediment Proterozoic to move as a unit, more or less, horizontally on the rocks of the Cretaceous period dating from about 70 million years ago on a remote 100 km south-east of the mountain's present location. The fact that older rocks end up on younger rocks
646-790: The Interior requesting he consider expanding the park reserve for scenic and recreational purposes. The Dominion Forest Reserves Act , which came into force in 1906, established the Kootenay Lakes Forest Reserve under the authority of the Superintendent of Forestry. In 1911, Minister of the Interior Frank Oliver introduced the Dominion Forest Reserves and Parks Act which designated all existing mountain parks, Elk Island and Buffalo Parks into forest reserves, with
680-499: The Interior, William James Roche , significantly expanded the area of Waterton Lakes Park to 1,096 km (423 sq mi). In 1920 William Thomson, the designer and head professional of the original golf course in Banff National Park was brought to Waterton to design a nine-hole golf course. A clubhouse would be constructed in 1928 and the course was expanded to 18 holes between 1931 and 1936. Further renovations to
714-533: The Kneehill Historical Museum. Since 1981, Three Hills has hosted an annual weekend in early June for auto enthusiasts called Cruise Night. The event typically attracts more than 8,000 visitors, along with their classic cars, trucks, motorcycles, and hot rods. This weekend is the largest of its kind in all of Western Canada. Southern Alberta The region has a total area of approximately 75,500 km (29,151 sq mi). Southern Alberta
SECTION 20
#1732852525627748-619: The Maxwell Tabernacle operated from 1953 until it was decommissioned and demolished in 2005. It was the college chapel and hosted Christian concerts and Bible conferences and was the worship centre for a local church, the Prairie Tabernacle Congregation. This facility was also used as the convocation auditorium for Prairie College, Prairie Christian Academy and the Three Hills High School. With the construction of
782-510: The Town of Three Hills had a population of 3,171 living in 1,220 of its 1,290 total private dwellings, a change of -1.3% from its 2016 population of 3,212. With a land area of 6.74 km (2.60 sq mi), it had a population density of 470.5/km (1,218.5/sq mi) in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Three Hills recorded a population of 3,212 living in 1,232 of its 1,306 total private dwellings,
816-433: The authority to designate all or part of the reserve a "Dominion Park" (later National Park). On June 8, 1911, Order-in-Council P.C. 1338 designated 35 km (14 sq mi) of the area of Waterton Lakes Forest Reserve as Dominion Park, much smaller than expected by resident staff, and only a small portion of the original 1895 reserve of 140 km (54 sq mi). In 1914, Frank Oliver's successor as Minister of
850-607: The course in the 1950s were designed by golf course architect Stanley Thompson . The Prince of Wales Hotel, one of Canada's grand railway hotels , was constructed between 1926 and 1927 adjacent to Upper Waterton Lakes , by the Great Northern Railway of the United States in an attempt to lure American tourists during the U.S. prohibition era . The hotel, which opened in July 1927, is the only grand railway hotel in Canada to be constructed by an American railway company. The hotel
884-465: The northeast of the region, prominently along the Red Deer River. Cypress Hills , located in the east, at the border with Saskatchewan , are the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and Labrador . Health care in the region is overseen by Alberta Health Services . It was formerly served by Calgary Health Region , Chinook Health and Palliser Health Region before they were amalgamated with
918-561: The other six regional health boards in 2008 to form Alberta Health Services. In 2007, Alberta Human Resources and Employment reported the fields of finance, insurance, real estate, professions, technicians and senior managers will lead the Lethbridge–Medicine Hat region's growth with an average 2.8% real GDP growth each year until 2011. The industries of manufacturing, energy, mining, and forestry would account for 2.6% each. All ten of these fields would account for more than half of
952-616: The park, destroying the visitor centre, stables and other buildings. Some 80% of hiking trails were affected and several remained closed for the 2018 season. The wildfire consumed one third of the park and stopped mere metres from the Prince of Wales Hotel. The oldest rocks in the park are marine sediments dating back 1.5 billion years. These rocks are composed of limestone , dolomite and igneous rocks . There are fossilized sea beds as well as salt pseudomorph . There are numerous stromatolite formations that are 1.3 billion years old. Unlike
986-501: The park, some of which include bald eagles , Canada geese , orange-crowned warblers , and MacGillivray's warblers . Waterton Lakes National Park Cameron Falls weather station has a humid continental climate ( Koppen : Dfb), bordering relatively closely on a subarctic climate (Dfc). Summertime is mild with cool nights, while winter is chilly with highs around freezing. Snowfall is heavy, averaging 481.5 cm (189.6 inches). In 1979, Waterton and bordering Glacier National park in
1020-791: The region's domestic product. On a provincial level, southern Alberta is represented in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta by MLAs elected in the ridings of Airdrie-Cochrane , Airdrie-East , Banff-Kananaskis , Brooks-Medicine Hat , Cardston-Siksika , Chestermere-Strathmore , Cypress-Medicine Hat , Highwood , Lethbridge East , Lethbridge West , Livingstone-Macleod , and Taber-Warner . Cities Towns Villages Specialized municipalities Improvement districts Municipal districts Special areas 50°N 112°W / 50°N 112°W / 50; -112 ( Southern Alberta ) Waterton Lakes National Park Waterton Lakes National Park
1054-522: The town. Although a relatively small community, Three Hills hosted the Alberta Seniors Games in the summer of 1998. The town was chosen to host this event because of its ability to utilize large and well-equipped facilities at Prairie College. This included the opening and closing ceremonies, which took place in Prairie's 4,200-seat Maxwell Memorial Tabernacle. Canada's largest religious auditorium,
Three Hills - Misplaced Pages Continue
1088-553: Was dedicated to world peace by Sir Charles Arthur Mander on behalf of Rotary International on 18 June 1932, whose members from the Alberta and Montana chapters lobbied for the formation of the park. The Peace Park was the first of its nature in the world, and was intended to promote goodwill between nations and underscore the international nature of protection of wilderness. In terms of local governance, those lands within Waterton Lakes National Park were split between
1122-448: Was inscribed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. In 1979, Waterton became Canada's second biosphere reserve and the first Canadian national park to take part in this UNESCO program. Biosphere Reserves are created to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between humans and the natural environment. In September 2017, a large forest fire forced the evacuation of the townsite and park. The fire burned through 200 km of
1156-530: Was named after the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII ), in a transparent attempt to entice him to stay in the hotel on his 1927 Canadian tour, but the prince stayed at his own nearby ranch in Pekisko, Alberta , instead. The hotel was designated as a national historic site of Canada on 6 November 1992. In 1932, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park was formed from Waterton Lakes National Park and Glacier. It
#626373