NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



255 



portion of the grassland becomes a 

 more mesophytic turf grass prairie 

 association in which wheat grass, wild 

 rye and red top are dominant. G. D. 

 Fuller.} 



4. A transition belt of poplar-savanna 

 fringes the northern border of the grass- 

 land region. This belt extends from 

 the foothills eastward across the south 

 central portion of the province to the 

 Saskatchewan boundary. The south 

 boundary of this region runs eastward 

 from a point a short distance south of 

 the town of Red Deer on the C. P. 

 railway between Calgary ancl Edmonton. 

 The north boundary extends from 

 Whitecourt west of Edmonton north- 

 easterly to the great bend of the Atha- 

 basca river some ten miles north of the 

 town of Athabasca, thence southeast- 

 erly south of Lake La Biche to the 

 Saskatchewan boundary line a few miles 

 north of the Saskatchewan river. This 

 region has a width north and south of 

 from 100 to 150 mi. The characteristic 

 trees are the aspen and balsam poplar. 

 (In the south the trees become smaller 

 and the small aspens in turn give way 

 to willows from 3 to 12 ft. in height. 

 This aspen and willow scrub occurs 

 continuously over considerable areas 

 but more frequently exists as scattered 

 clumps and groves in the rather meso- 

 phytic prairie. G. D. F.) 



Northwards the trees become more 

 dense and as the southern boundary 

 of the northern coniferous forest is 

 approached more or less dense forests 

 of poplar occur with occasional large 

 areas of meadow and prairie land. 



5. The northern coniferous forest 

 extends from the transition region 

 northward to the northern boundaries 

 of the province. The climax is a meso- 

 phytic coniferous type. The precipita- 

 tion is not high but the summers are 

 short and cool and the saturation deficit 

 low. The predominant trees are the 

 white spruce, balsam (Abies balsamea), 

 poplar, paper birch (Betula papyri/era), 

 jack pine (Pinus banksiana), and tama- 

 rack (Larix laricina). An interesting 

 condition occurs along the southwestern 



border of the coniferous forest where it 

 approaches the foothills of the Rockies 

 in the region of the Peace River Valley. 

 Large areas of open prairie land are 

 found here together with a preponder- 

 ance of poplar in the surrounding for- 

 ested areas. Some of these openings, 

 such as that known as Grande Prairie, 

 contain upwards of 1000 sq. mi. 



The fauna of the province has been 

 modified considerably in the south but 

 comparatively little in the north. Bison 

 (Bison bison), once very plentiful, are 

 extinct in the southern portion of the 

 province with the exception of a large 

 herd in the Buffalo Park Reserve near 

 Wainwright. Several herds of wild 

 wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) , 

 however, are still in existence in north- 

 ern Alberta and have been reported 

 west and south of Fort Smith. Prong- 

 horn antelope (Antilocapra americana) 

 are in existence on some of the smaller 

 preserves. Coyotes are numerous on 

 the open plains. In the northern forest 

 fur-bearing animals and moose (Alces 

 americana) are plentiful. Bighorn 

 sheep (Oviscanadensis), goats (Oreamnos 

 montanus group), grizzly and black 

 bear are found in the mountains. 1 



IV. PRESERVED NATURAL AREAS 



*Rocky Mountain National Park (A2) 



Area 2750 sq. mi. This area extends 

 along the eastern slopes of the Rockies 

 from the Kananaskis Lakes on the 

 south to the Clearwater river on the 

 north. It includes the Sawback, Ver- 

 million, Palliser, Goat and Kananaskis 

 ranges. The peaks range from 9000 to 

 12,000 ft. in altitude. The forest is of 

 the Rocky Mountain coniferous type. 

 Bison, deer, elk, bear, sheep, and goat 

 are found. The main line of the C. P. 

 R. R. west from Calgary traverses the 

 Park. Banfff is the central outfitting 

 point. Guides, ponies and camp equip- 

 ment can be obtained there. 



1 For further information on the fauna of the for- 

 ested part of the province, see under MacKenzie 

 Watershed, page 116, 



