Marguerite River Wildland Provincial Park is a

wildland Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

in Wood Buffalo, northern Alberta,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The park was established on 20 December 2000 and has an area of . The park is part of the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan. The park was named for the

Marguerite River Marguerite may refer to: People * Marguerite (given name), including a list of people with the name Places *Marguerite, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community *Marguerite Bay, Antarctic Peninsula * Marguerite Island, Adélie Land, Antarctic ...

that flows thru the park and forms a portion of the park's western boundary. The park was originally created in 1998 as Marguerite Crag and Tail Wildland Provincial Park. It was reformed and renamed in 2000.

Location

The park consists of two parcels of land, located east and northeast of

Fort McKay Fort McKay ( ) or Fort MacKay is a community in northern Alberta, northeast Alberta, Canada that is located at the confluence of the Athabasca River, Athabasca and MacKay rivers. It is approximately north of Fort McMurray via Alberta Highway 63, ...

, abutting the

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 ...

border on the east. The northern limits of the park adjoin Richardson Wildland Provincial Park and the Marguerite River. The smaller, southern parcel is north-to-south and west of the Saskatchewan border covering

Township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

95 and Ranges 1 and 2, west of the fourth meridian. This parcel contains a portion of the

Firebag River The Firebag River is a river in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. It gets its name from the traditional bags Aboriginals once used to carry fire-starting flints. Firebag River in western Canada It originates in ''Firebag Lake'' in northw ...

. The larger, northern parcel is north to south covering Townships 97 thru 102. The largest extent westward is at the junction of Reid Creek with Marguerite River.

Ecology

The park contains two subregions of the

Boreal Forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...

Natural Region of Alberta: Central Mixedwood and Athabasca Plain; and the Kazan Uplands subregion of the

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield (french: Bouclier canadien ), also called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), the anc ...

region. The park contains landscapes unique in Alberta. The north portion of the park contains a dissected

kame A kame, or ''knob'', is a glacial landform, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the g ...

creating an extremely rugged landscape with relative elevations of over . The Marguerite and Richardson rivers have developed the best examples of braided stream valley in the Boreal Forest Natural Region. An esker standing over marks the south end of the park. The park also includes a

drumlin A drumlin, from the Irish word ''droimnín'' ("littlest ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated ...

field and glacial flutes. The Snuff and Otter Lakes area represents the most pristine organic

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s in Alberta's boreal forest. Within the park is a unique

crag and tail A crag (sometimes spelled cragg, or in Scotland craig) is a rocky hill or mountain, generally isolated from other high ground. Origin Crags are formed when a glacier or ice sheet passes over an area that contains a particularly resistant r ...

landscape with

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

crags and glacially deposited

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

tails on the lee side. The crag and tail landscape is part of the Canadian Shield Natural Region. A rare fern ( Rock polypody) is found in the crag and tail area.

Grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

s are found in the park.

Activities

The park has no developed facilities so only wildlife viewing, backcountry hiking, and random backcountry camping are available. Snowmobiles are permitted on existing trails only. Hunting and fishing are allowed with proper permits.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Parks in Alberta Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

Location

Ecology

Activities

See also

References

External links