For years the people of Huxley, Alberta fought to preserve a canyon 20 kilometers east of their small village. The canyon was rich with plant and animal life. Echoes of Native culture resounded through the canyon.
In 1970, the Alberta government declared the canyon Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park. The Red Deer River twists its way, like a ribbon, through the bottom of the picturesque valley. It is a sight to behold.
Some of Alberta’s best freshwater fish fossils have been found in a coulee near Big Valley Stream that enters the canyon from the east.
On the west side of the park is the forty-five meter high cliff face that still holds bone fragments from ancient Native buffalo hunts. Pottery fragments, Indian graves and fire pits have been found at the bottom of the jump where Native hunters drove the buffalo over the cliffs to their death. These items indicate that “the jump” was a ceremonial ground for at least one tribe.
Long ago, buffalo and wild horses roamed the canyon. Now, there are 452 flowering plant species, 22 different types of mammals and 150 transient or nesting bird groups such as golden eagles and short-eared owls.
Lush fescue grows on Dry Island but silver berry, buffalo berry, buckbrush, wildrose, pin cherry, willows, hawthorn and cinqufoil shrubs grow throughout the canyon. Junipers grow on the uplands. In the valley near the river, you can find shrubs and poplar. On the northeast side, there are willows, balsam poplar and aspens.
Long eared and small-footed bats live in caves that line the canyon. Mule deer and badger graze here all year long.
The river contains an abundance of fish including spotted shine, northern pike, redhorse, goldeneye and lake chub.
Plains Indian culture and history are captured at Buffalo Jump, located 18 kilometers from historic Fort McLeod in southern Albeta. A lookout from the top of the cliffs provides a panoramic view of Oldman River Valley, which lies to the east. To the south are Peigan, Blood Nations and the flat plains that extend northward along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. This vista spreads out from one of the larger jumps. For more than five thousand year the Plains Indians drove thundering herds of bison down the narrow paths and over the cliff.
Head-Smashed-In –Buffalo Jump was declared a World Heritage Site in 1981. It has an interpretive center built into the cliff walls. Peigan and Blood Indian guides can answer any questions you may have as they lead you through the five level center and along the trails.
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