The Rural Municipality of Last Mountain Valley No. 250 ( 2016 population: ) is a

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

(RM) in 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 ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

within Census Division No. 11 and Division No. 5.

History

The RM of Last Mountain Valley No. 250 incorporated as a rural municipality on December 13, 1909.

Arlington Beach House

Arlington Beach House was one of the first hotels built in Saskatchewan and was one of the first buildings constructed along

Last Mountain Lake Last Mountain Lake, also known as Long Lake, is a prairie lake formed from glaciation 11,000 years ago. It is located in south central Saskatchewan, Canada, about north-west of the city of Regina. It flows into the Qu'Appelle River via Las ...

. This once luxury hotel was built in 1910 at

Arlington Beach, Saskatchewan Arlington Beach is a hamlet in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located on the eastern shore of Last Mountain Lake, north-west of Regina. Listed as a designated place by Statistics Canada, the hamlet had a population of 39 in the ...

by the William Pearson Land Company as their centre of operations in Saskatchewan. It was a popular vacation destination for people all across central Saskatchewan.

Geography

Communities and localities

The following urban municipalities are surrounded by the RM. ;

Towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

;

Villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

Duval Duval is a surname, literally translating from French language, French to English language, English as "of the valley". It derives from the Normans, Norman "Devall", which has both English and French ties. Variant spellings include: Davolls, Deav ...

The following unincorporated communities are within the RM. ;

Organized hamlet In most cases in Saskatchewan, a Hamlet (place), hamlet is an unincorporated community with at least five occupied dwellings situated on separate lots and at least 10 separate lots, the majority of which are an average size of less than one acre. S ...

s * Arlington Beach ;Localities * Cymric

Last Mountain

Last Mountain is a hilly plateau mostly within the south-east corner of the RM of Last Mountain Valley. A portion of the southern slope is in the RM of McKillop and a portion of the eastern slope is in the RM of Longlaketon. Duval is the closest community, directly to the west, and

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, to the south-west, is the closest town. The Legend of Last Mountain is a

Plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...

legend on the creation of Last Mountain. It states that after the Great Chief finished building all the hills on the prairies there was left-over dirt, which he used to create Last Mountain. That was the last thing he built and the neighbouring lake,

, was the last lake to be filled. That legend was first published by William Pearson Publishing Company Ltd. Of Winnipeg c. 1911. It was an exert from a pamphlet called "Last Mountain Lake Saskatchewan's Summer Resort".

Last Mountain Regional Park

Last Mountain Regional Park () is a

regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distri ...

at the far north-west corner of the RM within the

Last Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary Last Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary is a National Historic Site of Canada, located in the rural municipality of Last Mountain Valley No. 250 in Saskatchewan. The migratory bird sanctuary was the first established in North America. The ar ...

, along the eastern shore of

. Founded in 1963, it is one of Saskatchewan's oldest regional parks. It is located about west of Govan, off

Highway 20 Route 20, or Highway 20, may refer to: International * European route E20 Australia * Sturt Highway (NSW/VIC/SA) * Yarra Bank Highway Brazil * BR-020 Canada * Alberta Highway 20 * British Columbia Highway 20 * Manitoba Highway 20 *New B ...

. The park features access to the bird sanctuary and

Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area (NWA) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The protected area is in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, which extends throughout three Canadian provinces and f ...

, which is a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Saskatchewan's only bird observatory, Last Mountain Bird Observatory, is located in the park. There is also beach access to the lake for swimming, fishing, and water sports. The park offers seasonal and daily camping, as well as private cabins, an outdoor pool, aquatic programme, shower house, laundry, nine-hole sand green golf course, sand volleyball court, and a concession.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, the RM of Last Mountain Valley No. 250 had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population, the RM of Last Mountain Valley No. 250 recorded a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Government

The RM of Last Mountain Valley No. 250 is governed by an elected municipal council and an appointed administrator that meets on the second Thursday of every month. The reeve of the RM is Allan Magel while its administrator is Kelly Holbrook. The RM's office is located in Govan.

Transportation

Saskatchewan Highway 20 Highway 20 is a major road intended for travel by the public between Highway 11 Lumsden to Highway 3 at Birch Hills. Saskatchewan's main roadways are located in the central/southern geographical land area of rolling prairie and grass land in ...

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

References

{{Authority control Last Mountain Valley * Hills of Saskatchewan Division No. 11, Saskatchewan