The Great Sand Hills, also spelt Great Sandhills, are

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

in the south-west region of the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

of Saskatchewan. The Great Sand Hills are the second largest active dunes in Saskatchewan, after Athabasca Sand Dunes, and are part of Great Sandhills Ecological Reserve, which covers an area of about . The sands that make up the dunes are made up of very finely ground sand called rock flour that were deposited near the end of the last ice age. The region around the sand hills is often windy and, as a result, the wind blows the fine sands around creating an ever-changing landscape. Swift Current, the fifth largest city in Saskatchewan, is to the south-east while Leader, the closest town, is to the north-west. Access is from Sceptre, which is north of the hills. Sceptre is home to the Great Sandhills Museum & Interpretive Centre.

Formation

The Great Sand Hills were created over 12,000 years ago near the end of the last ice age as the Wisconsin ice sheet retreated. At that time, the landscape of southern Saskatchewan was much different than it is today as there were retreating glaciers and several proglacial lakes. At the height of the glacial advance 18,000 years ago, the ice sheet was almost thick and as the glaciers retreated, they left behind huge piles of sandy debris, glacial till, and

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

s while the melting waters carved out huge spillways. The area of the Great Sand Hills, and nearby Elbow Sand Hills at the headwaters of the

Qu'Appelle River The Qu'Appelle River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba that flows east from Lake Diefenbaker in south-western Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near t ...

Douglas Provincial Park Douglas Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Established in 1973, it is named after Tommy Douglas, the seventh premier of Saskatchewan and father of Canada's first single-payer, universal health care ...

, was covered by Glacial Lake Bursary. The South Saskatchewan Spillway flowed from the lake and as the glaciers disappeared and the waters began to dry up, sand deltas built up causing the South Saskatchewan Spillway to change course, thereby carving out the South Saskatchewan River Valley. Glacial Lake Bursary dried up exposing the sand deltas, which are the sand hills that exist today.

Flora and fauna

Animals found around the hills include the

antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...

, mule deer, pronghorn,

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

, white-tailed deer, badger, weasel,

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

, and the rare Ord's kangaroo rat. Local birds include the sharp-tailed grouse, white pelican,

merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

, golden eagle, burrowing owl, mourning dove, and sandhill crane. Vegetation around the hills is limited due to the dry conditions and poor soil but includes prairie grasses, sagebrush, and small clumps of trees such as aspen and willow.

References

External links

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Why are there sand dunes in the middle of Saskatchewan?
{{Authority control Dunes of Canada Hills of Saskatchewan Landforms of Saskatchewan Protected areas of Saskatchewan Clinworth No. 230, Saskatchewan

Formation

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links