Page 166 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Canada

EXPERIENCE MORE

5 Blackfoot tribe. The site
takes its name from a brave
Fort Macleod individual whose head was
smashed in when watching
@ n 219 Jerry Potts Blvd; the kill from under the cliff.
EXPERIENCE The Prairies Fort Macleod was established Buffalo Jump
www.fortmacleod.com
Head-Smashed-In
Alberta’s oldest settlement,
in 1874 as the first North West
" ⌂ Hwy 785, off Hwy 2
Mounted Police outpost in the
§ (403) 553 2731 # Daily
west. Sent to control lawless
whisky traders at the Fort
Whoop-up trading post, the
Mounties (p171) set up Fort
Lethbridge
Macleod nearby.
Today’s town retains many 6
~ @ n 2805 Scenic Dr S;
of its historic buildings, and the (403) 320 1222 or (1800) 8 "-=
reconstructed fort pali sades 661 1222 Elk Island
house a museum that tells the National Park
story of the Mounties’ journey. Coal, oil, and gas are the ⌂ Hwy 16 § (780) 922 5790
The world’s oldest and basis of Lethbridge’s success. # Daily
best preserved buffalo jump Alberta’s third-largest city
lies 11 miles (18 km) north- was named after mine-owner Established in 1906 as Canada’s
west of Fort Macleod. Head- William Lethbridge in 1885, first animal sanctuary, Elk
Smashed-In Buffalo Jump but First Nations peoples have Island became a national
is a UNESCO World Heritage inhabited the area since park in 1913. This 75-sq-miles
Site. This way of hunting prehistoric times. (194-sq-km) park provides a
buffalo, in which aboriginal Lethbridge is home to the habitat for large mammals
people wearing buffalo skins notorious Fort Whoop-up, such as elk and moose. It was
stampeded herds of the established in 1869 by whisky also pivotal in Canada’s bison
animals to their deaths over traders John Healy and Alfred conservation efforts, and is
a cliff, was perfec ted by the Hamilton. Many First Nations now home to over 600 bison.
peoples, drawn by the lure of The landscape of transitional
the drink, were poisoned or aspen parkland is one of the
killed by the illicit brew, which most threatened habitats in
was made with substances North America. Aspen trees
such as tobacco and red ink. grow mostly on dry ridges,
Today, a recon struction of Fort while balsam, poplar, and white
Whoop-up and three galleries birch grow near wet areas.
evoke life here in the 1870s. Plants such as willow also
thrive in the wetlands.
Elk Island is both a popular
7 day trip from Edmonton and
a draw for wildlife photogra-
Red Deer phers. There are 13 hiking trails
of varying lengths, and a range
@ n 101–4200 Hwy 2;
www.visitreddeer.com of other outdoor activities
available all year round.
Located midway between
Calgary and Edmonton, this
bustling city was founded in 9
1882 by Scottish settlers as a
stopover point for travelers. Grande Prairie
A modern city with good ~ @ n 11330 106th St;
facilities, Red Deer is the hub www.gptourism.ca
of Alberta’s rolling parkland
The reconstructed district. The city’s beautiful Grande Prairie is a large,
fort and museum at reserve of Waskasoo Park is modern city in the northwest
Fort Macleod located along the Red River. corner of Alberta. Surrounded
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