Grasslands national park

Grasslands (Saskatchewan) on the map. National Park Grasslands  ( Saskatchewan ) on the map of Canada.     

Above right, top: Grasslands is populated  with numerous black-tailed prairie dogs. These social creatures live in  colonies along the Frenchman River Valley.      

Above right, middle: The burrowing owl makes its home in the prairies of Grasslands National Park.      

Right: The gently rolling hills of Grasslands are one of the few remaining areas of mixed grass prairie in North America.      

Facing page, top: The sage grouse is almost always found wherever there is sagebrush.      

Facing page, bottom: Pronghorns are the  fastest land animals in North America. In short bursts of speed, they  can reach up to 60 miles per hour.      

Grasslands, Saskatchewan      

Established: 1988   Acreage: 224,071      

In September 1988, the Government of  Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan signed an agreement  establishing Grasslands National Park, an area on the Canadian-US border  that contains one of the last remnants of native, mixed grass prairie  in North America. The mixed prairie vegetation supports a wide variety  of wildlife, including pronghorn antelope, ferruginous hawks, prairie  rattlesnake and sage grouse. Black-tailed prairie dogs build their  colonies along the Frenchman River Valley, the only place where this  little creature can be seen in its natural habitat. The rare and  endangered prairie falcon can also be seen in Grasslands.      

The weathered landforms of the Killdeer  Badlands dot the rolling plains. Here Sir George Mercier Dawson,  geologist and naturalist to Her Majesty's North American Boundary  Commission, discovered dinosaur remains in 1874. Grasslands also  contains 'Sinking Hill,' a fault-like formation 66 yards wide and 11  yards deep, which is sinking roughly six and a half feet a year.      

Tepee rings, projectile points and other  artifacts reveal a colorful human history. Plains Indians once roamed  here in search of bison, and the area was a favorite hunting ground for  the nomadic Metis during the early days of the Red River Settlement.  After the battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull and his Sioux  followers took refuge in the Grasslands area. A few homesteaders briefly  settled in the region, but moved on when they found the land ill-suited  for farming. In their wake came ranchers, who established a flourishing  industry that continues to this day.      

Because the park is in the early stages  of development, visitor facilities are not yet available, and the roads  there are primarily for access by local ranchers. Thus visitors to the  park will find a wilderness, much as it was when the bison and Indians  roamed the plains.      

Grasslands (Saskatchewan) on the map. National Park Grasslands  ( Saskatchewan ) on the map of Canada