Maple Creek is a town in the Cypress Hills of southwest

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Maple Creek No. 111. The population was 2,176 at the 2021 Census. The town is southeast of

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, 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, Alberta, R ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, and north of the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park on Highway 21 and south of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

. Maple Creek runs along the west side of town. The administrative headquarters of the Nekaneet Cree Nation is southeast of Maple Creek.

History

After the

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to ...

had been established at

Fort Walsh Fort Walsh is a National Historic Site of Canada that was a North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) fort. Administered by Parks Canada, it forms a constituent part of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. The fort was built in June 1875 and was named ...

, settlers began to explore the Cypress Hills area, living along the creeks and doing small-scale ranching. The Department of the Interior was operating a

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

farm on the Maple Creek, a few miles south from the present town site. In 1882-1883 the First Nations (mainly

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

Saulteaux The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and Ojibwa ethnonyms, other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band governm ...

, and

Assiniboine The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...

) were moved to Qu'Appelle, and the farm was then operated by Major Shurtleff, a former

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

, and George Wood, his brother-in-law. In the winter of 1882, a

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

construction crew of 12 decided to winter where the town of Maple Creek now stands. This marked the establishment of Maple Creek. In June 2010, a flood submerged some of the town when Maple Creek overflowed its banks. The same flood hit much of southwestern Saskatchewan and southern Alberta and even destroyed a portion of the

Heritage sites

There are two designated municipal heritage Properties in Maple Creek: *The ''W. R. Orr Heritage Building'' was constructed in 1910 and over its history it has housed the Union Bank of Canada; W.R. Orr Law Office; Royal Bank of Canada; Bank of Montreal; Burnett & Orr Law Office. *The ''St. Mary's Anglican Church'' was constructed in 1909 in the Romanesque style. The church also contains a vestry, narthex, and octagonal belfry with steeple that was added in 1928.

Demographics

In the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Maple Creek had a population of 2,176 living in 988 of its 1,083 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 2,084. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Climate

Maple Creek experiences a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

'' BSk''). With the exception of southwestern Alberta, winters in Maple Creek are typically warmer than those in the adjacent plain region of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, being a convergence point for

Chinook wind Chinook winds, or simply Chinooks, are two types of prevailing warm, generally westerly winds in western North America: Coastal Chinooks and interior Chinooks. The coastal Chinooks are persistent seasonal, wet, southwesterly winds blowing in from ...

s originating along the Rocky Mountain Front. The highest temperature ever recorded in Maple Creek was on August 5, 1961. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on February 15 and 16, 1936.

Attractions

* Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, an interprovincial park straddling the southern

-Saskatchewan border, north-west of Robsart. * Cypress Hills Vineyard & Winery *

, a reconstructed

fort and part of the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. As a National Historic Site of Canada the area possesses national historical significance. It was established as a NWMP fort after and near the

Cypress Hills Massacre The Cypress Hills MassacreThe Cypress Hills Massacre
at

Grasslands National Park Grasslands National Park is a Canadian national park located near the village of Val Marie, Saskatchewan, and one of 44 national parks and park reserves in Canada's national park system (though one of only two in Saskatchewan itself). This n ...

, represents the Prairie Grasslands natural region, protecting one of the nation's few remaining areas of undisturbed dry mixed-grass /

shortgrass prairie The shortgrass prairie is an ecosystem located in the Great Plains of North America. The two most dominant grasses in the shortgrass prairie are blue grama (''Bouteloua gracilis'') and buffalograss (''Bouteloua dactyloides''), the two less domin ...

grassland. The park is in the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

-defined

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

known as the

Northern Shortgrass Prairie The Northern Shortgrass Prairie includes parts of the Canadian Provinces of Canada, provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and the United States Great Plains states of Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska. One of 844 terrest ...

, which spans across much of Southern Saskatchewan,

Southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2016, the region's population was approximately 291,112. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The region is known mostly for agricultural production, but o ...

, and the northern

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

states in the US. The unique landscape and harsh,

provide niches for several specially adapted plants and animals. The park and surrounding area house the country's only

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

colonies. Other rare and endangered fauna in the park include the

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 ante ...

sage grouse Sage-grouse are grouse belonging to the bird genus ''Centrocercus.'' The genus includes two species: the Gunnison grouse (''Centrocercus minimus'') and the greater sage-grouse (''Centrocercus urophasianus''). These birds are distributed throug ...

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged, primarily terrestrial—though not flightless—species of owl native to the open landscapes of North and South America. They are typically found in gra ...

ferruginous hawk The ferruginous hawk (''Buteo regalis'') is a large bird of prey and belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks. An old colloquial name is ferrugineous rough-leg, due to its similarity to the closely related rough-legged hawk (''B. lagopus''). The ...

, prairie rattlesnake,

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 ...

and eastern

greater short-horned lizard The greater short-horned lizard (''Phrynosoma hernandesi)'', also commonly known as the mountain short-horned lizard or Hernández's short-horned lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is endemic to western Nor ...

. Flora includes

blue grama ''Bouteloua gracilis'', the blue grama, is a long-lived, warm-season (C4 carbon fixation, C4) Perennial plant, perennial grass, native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta, Canada, east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky ...

grass,

needlegrass The term needlegrass may refer to any of several genera of grasses, including: *''Achnatherum'' *''Aristida'' (three-awns) *''Hesperostipa'' *''Nassella'' *''Stipa'' *''Triraphis'' See also * Spear grass (disambiguation) * Wiregrass (disambiguatio ...

Plains cottonwood ''Populus deltoides'', the eastern cottonwood or necklace poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as the southern Canadian prairies, the ...

and silver sagebrush. * Robsart Art Works features Saskatchewan artists featuring photographers of old buildings and towns throughout Saskatchewan. *

T.rex Discovery Centre The T.rex Discovery Centre is a natural history museum located in Eastend, Saskatchewan, Canada, and housed in a building designed by Stantec. The T.rex Discovery Centre was opened to the public in 2001, and was intended to house a number of fos ...

, a facility to house the fossil record of the Eastend area started many years before the discovery of "Scotty" the T.Rex in 1994.

Education

The Sidney Street School and the Maple Creek Composite School serve the local community. Great Plains College operates a satellite campus in Maple Creek.

Notable people

* Stuart John Cameron, member of the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan () is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in the ...

for Regina South * Barry Dean, former

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) player * Quick Dick McDick (Dickson Delorme), YouTuber, farmer, comedian * Gordon Poirier, former NHL player *

Zack Smith Zachary Smith (born April 5, 1988) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Ottawa Senators, who drafted him 79th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). ...

History

Heritage sites

Demographics

Climate

Attractions

Education

Notable people

See also

Notes

References

External links