Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park is a natural park in Canada straddling the

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in 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 the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

boundary and jointly administered by the two provinces. Located south-east of

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are with ...

, it became

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 tota ...

's first interprovincial park in 1989. The park consists of two protected areas, the west block, that straddles the Alberta / Saskatchewan boundary between

Alberta Highway 41 Alberta Provincial Highway No. 41, commonly referred to as Highway 41 and officially named Buffalo Trail, is a north-south highway in eastern Alberta, Canada. It extends from the United States border at Wild Horse to Highway 5 ...

, the townsite of Elkwater, Saskatchewan Highway 615, Saskatchewan Highway 271, and

Fort Walsh Fort Walsh is a National Historic Site of Canada that was a North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) fort and the site of the Cypress Hills Massacre. Administered by Parks Canada, it forms a constituent part of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. The fo ...

, and the centre block, an additional area of in Saskatchewan, west of

Saskatchewan Highway 21 Highway 21 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Montana Secondary Highway 233 at the United States border near Willow Creek to Highway 950/ Highway 919 within the Meadow Lake Provincial Park. Highway 21 is about ...

Geography

The Cypress Hills plateau rises up to 200 metres above the surrounding

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

, to a maximum elevation of at "Head of the Mountain" at the west end in Alberta, making it Canada's highest point between the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost par ...

and the Labrador Peninsula. Eastward across the boundary is the highest point in Saskatchewan, at . The "West Block" of the Cypress Hills spans the provincial boundary.

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which encom ...

runs through the central part of the park. Although the hills seem relatively low, in a larger geographic context the plateau does rise gradually from many kilometres away so that the total elevation gain from Medicine Hat is approximately 600 metres.

History

*1931 - Cypress Hills Provincial Park was established in Saskatchewan. *1951 - Cypress Hills Provincial Park was established in Alberta. *1989 - On August 25, the governments of Alberta and

signed an agreement committing themselves to cooperation on

ecosystem management Ecosystem management is an approach to natural resource management that aims to ensure the long-term sustainability and persistence of an ecosystems function and services while meeting socioeconomic, political, and cultural needs. Although indige ...

, education, and park promotion. *2000 -

Fort Walsh National Historic Site Fort Walsh is a National Historic Site of Canada that was a North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) fort and the site of the Cypress Hills Massacre. Administered by Parks Canada, it forms a constituent part of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. The fo ...

(located on the Saskatchewan side of the West Block) joined the collective. Together, these three partner agencies make up the park. Both Alberta and Saskatchewan provincial governments signed the ''Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park agreement'', establishing the first interprovincial park in Canada. *2001 - On August 18, Vance Petriew discovered a

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma, and sometimes also a Comet ta ...

from Cypress Hills during the Saskatchewan Summer Star Party. The comet was later named 185P/Petriew. *2004 - On September 28, Saskatchewan Parks, Alberta Community Development, Parks Canada and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada signed an agreement that declared the park a dark-sky preserve. *2011 - On August 25, the Park opened the Cypress Hills Observatory and Yurt classroom.

Nature

Approximately 700 species of plants and animals thrive in the park, including 14 species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

s. The park protects the majority of the Cypress Hills

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

, which consists of three separate elevated blocks of lush

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

and fescue

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

surrounded by dry mixed-grass

. The "west block" and "centre block" are protected as provincial parks, and are managed by Alberta Parks and Protected Areas and Saskatchewan Parks, respectively. The "east block" of the Cypress Hills, situated near Eastend, Saskatchewan, is not a park or protected area. The ''

'' is also located adjacent to the "west block".

Mammals

There are five species of large hoofed mammals found in the park: wapiti,

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

, and

pronghorn The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American ant ...

. Other mammals found in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park include: Eulipotyphla *

Masked shrew The cinereus shrew or masked shrew (''Sorex cinereus'') is a small shrew found in Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States. This is the most widely distributed shrew in North America, where it is also known as the common shrew. Descript ...

(''Sorex cinereus'') *

American pygmy shrew The American pygmy shrew (''Sorex hoyi'') is a small shrew found in Northern Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States, south through the Appalachian Mountains. It was first discovered in 1831 by naturalist William Cane in Georgian Bay, ...

(''Sorex hoyi'') * Wandering shrew (''Sorex vagrans'') Lagomorpha *

Snowshoe hare The snowshoe hare (''Lepus americanus''), also called the varying hare or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet. The animal's feet prevent it from sin ...

(''Lepus americanus'') *

White-tailed jackrabbit The white-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus townsendii''), also known as the prairie hare and the white jack, is a species of hare found in western North America. Like all hares and rabbits, it is a member of the family Leporidae of order Lagomorph ...

(''Lepus townsendii'') * Nuttall's cottontail (''Sylvilagus nuttallii'') Chiroptera *

Hoary bat The hoary bat (''Lasiurus cinereus'') is a species of bat in the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. It lives throughout most of North America (possibly including Hawaii, although this is disputed). Taxonomy The hoary bat was described as ...

(''Aeorestes cinereus'') *

Big brown bat The big brown bat (''Eptesicus fuscus'') is a species of vesper bat distributed widely throughout North America, the Caribbean, and the northern portion of South America. It was first described as a species in 1796. Compared to other microba ...

(''Eptesicus fuscus'') * Silver-haired bat (''Lasionycteris noctivagans'') *

Eastern red bat The eastern red bat (''Lasiurus borealis'') is a species of microbat in the family Vespertilionidae. Eastern red bats are widespread across eastern North America, with additional records in Bermuda. Taxonomy and etymology It was described in ...

(''Lasiurus borealis'') *

Small-footed myotis The western small-footed bat (''Myotis ciliolabrum''), also known as the western small-footed myotis, is a species of vesper bat native to North America. Description Western small-footed bats are relatively small bats, having a total length of , ...

(''Myotis ciliolabrum'') * Long-eared myotis (''Myotis evotis'') *

Little brown myotis The little brown bat or little brown myotis (''Myotis lucifugus'') is an endangered species of mouse-eared bat, mouse-eared microbat found in North America. It has a small body size and glossy brown fur. It is similar in appearance to several ...

(''Myotis lucifugus'') Carnivora *

Coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of 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 ecological ni ...

(''Canis latrans'') *

North American beaver The North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') is one of two extant beaver species, along with the Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber''). It is native to North America and introduced in South America (Patagonia) and Europe (primarily Finland and ...

(''Castor canadensis'') *

Black-tailed prairie dog The black-tailed prairie dog (''Cynomys ludovicianus'') is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States-Canada border to the United States-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs ...

(''Cynomys ludovicianus'') * Thirteen-lined ground squirrel (''Ictidomys tridecemlineatus'') *

North American river otter The North American river otter (''Lontra canadensis''), also known as the northern river otter and river otter, is a semiaquatic mammal that only lives on the North American continent, along its waterways and coasts. An adult North American ri ...

(''Lontra canadensis'') *

Bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IU ...

(''Lynx rufus'') *

Striped skunk The striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') is a skunk of the genus '' Mephitis'' that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on ...

(''Mephitis mephitis'') *

Stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least C ...

(''Mustela erminea'') *

Black-footed ferret The black-footed ferret (''Mustela nigripes''), also known as the American polecatHeptner, V. G. (Vladimir Georgievich); Nasimovich, A. A; Bannikov, Andrei Grigorovich; Hoffmann, Robert S. (2001)''Mammals of the Soviet Union''Volume: v. 2, pt. 1 ...

(''Mustela nigripes'') *

Least weasel The least weasel (''Mustela nivalis''), little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel is the smallest member of the genus '' Mustela,'' family Mustelidae and order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, and has b ...

(''Mustela nivalis'') * Long-tailed weasel (''Neogale frenata'') *

American mink The American mink (''Neogale vison'') is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe, Asia and South America. Because of range expansion, the American mink ...

(''Neogale vison'') *

Raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight o ...

(''Procyon lotor'') *

Mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

(''Puma concolor'') *

American badger The American badger (''Taxidea taxus'') is a North American badger similar in appearance to the European badger, although not closely related. It is found in the western, central, and northeastern United States, northern Mexico, and south-cen ...

(''Taxidea taxus'') * Northern pocket gopher (''Thomomys talpoides'') *

Swift fox The swift fox (''Vulpes velox'') is a small light orange-tan fox around the size of a domestic cat found in the western grasslands of North America, such as Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. It also lives in southern ...

(''Vulpes velox'') Rodentia * Ord's kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys ordii'') *

North American porcupine The North American porcupine (''Erethizon dorsatum''), also known as the Canadian porcupine, is a large quill-covered rodent in the New World porcupine family. It is the second largest rodent in North America, after the North American beaver ('' ...

(''Erethizon dorsatum'') *

Sagebrush vole The sagebrush vole (''Lemmiscus curtatus'') is a tiny vole found in western North America. This is the only member of genus ''Lemmiscus''. They are somewhat similar in appearance to lemmings. They have chunky bodies with short legs and a very sh ...

(''Lemmiscus curtatus'') * Western meadow vole (''Microtus drummondii'') * Gapper's red-backed vole (''Myodes gapperi'') * Least chipmunk (''Neotamias minimus'') * Bushy-tailed woodrat (''Neotoma cinerea'') *

Muskrat The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habita ...

(''Ondatra zibethicus'') * Northern grasshopper mouse (''Onychomys leucogaster'') *

White-footed mouse The white-footed mouse (''Peromyscus leucopus'') is a rodent native to North America from Ontario, Quebec, Labrador, and the Maritime Provinces (excluding the island of Newfoundland) to the southwestern United States and Mexico. In the Maritimes ...

(''Peromyscus leucopus'') * Western deer mouse (''Peromyscus sonoriensis'') *

American red squirrel The American red squirrel (''Tamiasciurus hudsonicus'') is one of three species of tree squirrels currently classified in the genus ''Tamiasciurus'', known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, ''T. douglasii'', and the s ...

(''Tamiasciurus hudsonicus'') *

Richardson's ground squirrel Richardson's ground squirrel (''Urocitellus richardsonii''), also known as the dakrat or flickertail, is a North American ground squirrel in the genus '' Urocitellus''. Like a number of other ground squirrels, they are sometimes called prairie d ...

(''Urocitellus richardsonii'') *

Olive-backed pocket mouse The olive-backed pocket mouse (''Perognathus fasciatus'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in the central Great Plains of Canada and the United States where it is widespread and relatively common; the IUCN consider ...

(''Perognathus fasciatus'') * Western jumping mouse (''Zapus princeps'')

Fish species

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...

species include

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by S ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish water, brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are kno ...

brook A brook is a small river or natural stream of fresh water. It may also refer to: Computing *Brook, a programming language for GPU programming based on C *Brook+, an explicit data-parallel C compiler * BrookGPU, a framework for GPGPU programm ...

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model use ...

, westslope cutthroat and

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiformes, gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish. It is also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, and eelpout. The species ...

common carp The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...

white sucker The white sucker (''Catostomus commersonii)'' is a species of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, but it is also found as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. The fish is commo ...

, and shorthead redhorse.

Activities

On the Alberta side of the west block, key park features include Head of the Mountain Viewpoint, the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and Labrador, the Elkwater townsite (a

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide s ...

community sitting at the same elevation as the Banff townsite), Horseshoe Canyon and Reesor Lake viewpoints (offering 100 km views on a clear day), over 50 km of

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A His ...

and

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and p ...

trails, and Hidden Valley Ski Area. Three lakes sit on the Alberta side of the park ( Elkwater Lake, Spruce Coulee Reservoir and Reesor Lake), with another four in Saskatchewan (Harris, Adams, Coulee Lake, and Loch Leven). All year long, park interpreters present education programs to school and youth groups, adult and seniors groups, and a wide range of park visitors. There are also various rentals to be used in the park in the various months. In summertime, kayak, canoe, bicycle, and stand up paddle boards are available for rental. In the winter, kicksleds, snowshoes, skates, and cross-country skis may be rented. Winter camping is available and through Camp-Easy,

yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia ...

s are available for rent.

References

External links

Official Park websiteA Road Trip To Cypress HillsCypress Hills Interprovincial Park
{{Authority control Cypress County Provincial parks of Alberta Provincial parks of Saskatchewan Dark-sky preserves in Canada Maple Creek No. 111, Saskatchewan 1931 establishments in Saskatchewan 1951 establishments in Alberta