natural regions of alberta grassland region

<www.englishexpress.ca> • Natural regions of Alberta: Grassland region November—December 2009 •

+ More on page 2

+ Alberta is a big province.

+ It has six natural regions.

+ Can you find the six regions on the map? Use the legend below.

Natural regions of Alberta

Grassland region

Boreal Forest

Canadian Shield

Foothills

Grassland

Parkland

Rocky Mountain

Boreal Forest

Canadian Shield

Foothills

Grassland

Parkland

Rocky Mountain

Legend

Alberta

4 The Grassland region is in southern Alberta. It covers about 14 per cent of the province.

4 In this region, many people live in cities, towns and villages. Some people live on farms and ranches.

4 The Siksika Nation is in this region. It is east of Calgary.

Med

icine Hat: D

avid W

alker; Siksika sign: B

ev Burke

Edmonton

Calgary

Medicine Hat

United States

Saskatchew

an

0 50 km

N

S

W E

Here is a map with some cities, towns, roads and rivers in the Grassland region.

Red Deer River

Bow River

Oldman River

Milk River

South Saskatchewan River

This area of the Cypress Hills is part of the Rocky Mountain region.

Cypress Hills

Calgary

Drumheller

Medicine Hat

Taber

CardstonPincher Creek

Lethbridge

Fort Macleod

Brooks


+ More on page 3

Land

4 The Grassland region is mostly prairie. On the prairie, the land is often f lat. There are also small hills, valleys and coulees.

4 The Grassland region also has badlands and sand hills.

4 Part of the Grassland region has big hills. They are near the Rocky Mountains.

valley

river

1

2

3

54

coulee

hill

Climate

4 The Grassland region is the warmest, driest region of Alberta.

4 Summers are very warm and dry. It can be very windy.

4 Areas near the Rocky Mountains get more rain and snow. They also have chinooks.

4 Winters are cold. Most areas don’t get much snow.

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+ During a chinook, wind blows over the mountains. The wind becomes warm and dry.

+ It can be –20ºC at 9 a.m. and 10ºC at 3 p.m.!

+ You often see clouds that look like an arch.


+ More on page 4


+ More on page 5

Animals Plants

4 The Grassland region has grasses, shrubs and herbs.

4 Trees and shrubs grow mostly along rivers and in coulees.

4 Many animals live in the Grassland region. For example:

4 Some animals don’t live in other regions of Alberta. They only live in the Grassland region. For example:

ground squirrel shrubgrass

herb

river

deer

rattlesnakepronghorn antelope

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10

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coulee

Land use

4 In 1900, the Grassland region was mostly natural prairie.

4 Today, most of the region is cropland. Farmers grow wheat and other crops.

4 The region has oil and gas.

4 People enjoy many activities in this region. For example:

4 Farmers and ranchers raise cattle, horses, sheep and other animals.

4 Some farmers irrigate their land.

canoeing

camping

ice skatinghunting

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+ More on page 6


Dinosaur Provincial Park is in the Grassland region. Find the green star ( ) on the map.

4 The park is in the badlands.

Visit Dinosaur Provincial Park

4 Dinosaurs lived in this area 75,000,000 years ago. People have found many dinosaur fossils in the park.

4 There are dinosaur skeletons at the visitor centre.

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4 In 1979, the park became a World Heritage Site.

4 You can do many things in the park. You can hike and camp. You can take guided hikes and bus tours.

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Visitor centre: open year-round(open only Monday to Friday in the winter)

Hikes and bus tours: Some trailsand the loop road are open year-round. You can take guided hikes and bus tours from the May long weekend to mid-October.

Camping: open year-round

Website: www.dinosaurpark.ca

Maps: Wendy Johnson, adapted from 2005 Natural Regions and Subregions of Alberta, Government of Alberta • Source: Natural Regions Committee 2006. Natural Regions and Subregions of Alberta. Government of Alberta • Photos—(1,7,9,17,18,20,23,24,25,26,28,29,30) Travel Alberta; (2,3,5,13,14,16,22) David Walker; (4,15,27) Bev Burke; (6) ©iStockphoto/BrendanHunter; (8) Gordon Court; (10) ©iStockphoto/JohnThiessen; (11) ©iStockphoto/Photawa; (12) Lorna Allen; (19,21) ©iStockphoto/ImagineGolf • Art—sun: ©iStockphoto/browndogstudios; other art: Guy Parsons • Special thanks to Lorna Allen and David Walker.

natural regions of alberta grassland region

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