Notikewin Provincial Park
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Notikewin Provincial Park
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| location | Alberta (Canada) | |
| surface | 96.97 km² | |
| Geographical location | 57 ° 13 ' N , 117 ° 8' W | |
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| Setup date | November 20, 1979 | |
The Notikewin Provincial Park is a 96.97 km² large nature park in the northwest of the Canadian province of Alberta . The park area includes undisturbed forests and wetlands. It extends 6.4 km on the lower reaches of the Notikewin River and 25 km on the west bank of the Peace River , about 67 km northwest of Manning .
Surname
The name Notikewin comes from the Cree word nôtinikewin (ᓅᑎᓂᑫᐃᐧᐣ), which means 'battle' or 'fight'. The name of the park goes back to the river of the same name, a tributary of the Peace River . The small park is located in the valley where the Notikewin flows into the Peace River. The name probably goes back to the Tza Tinne civil war, which appears in her legends as "Dog Piss-on-arrow-war".
Geology and landform
The deeply cut valleys of Peace and Notikewin shape the landscape of the park. On the west side of the Peace River, four terraces descend towards the river. These emerged from former islands and meander banks that remained when the river cut deeper and moved its course further east. Several large, teardrop-shaped islands were created relatively recently. At the mouth of the Notikewin an island was formed from extensive silt deposits. Away from the rivers, there are wetlands and lakes such as Crummy Lake , where marshland dominated by black spruce was created. From a former canal of the Peace River, a wetland was created on a terrace in the south of the park, surrounded by fens.
The park's bedrock was created during the late Cretaceous period . The lowest position is the Loon River Formation . It consists of silty slate and solidified silt marl. Above is the Peace River Formation , which is made of sandstone . Outcrops of the rock formations can be found in both river valleys. The uppermost layer is the Shaftesbury Formation , which is composed of marine slate and silt sole.
A glacier covered the region until about 12,000 years ago. The ground moraine and non-stratified glacial deposits remained from it. When the glacier melted, Lake Peace was formed , which in turn left significant amounts of debris.
Soil in turn formed over these deposits, which in the higher park areas contains high proportions of clay and at the same time only drains slightly. In contrast, the soils along the rivers are more sandy.
Flora and fauna
The American quivering aspen is the predominant tree species. There are areas that are exclusively of this species, including many that have existed for a long time. This dominance is due to the effects of periodic forest fires. The northern part of the park last burned in the 1940s, parts of the southern park in the following decade. There, in 1955, a fire destroyed the area between the southern boundary of the park and Crummy Lake. These fires meant that the otherwise also settled white spruce only slowly settle again. In wetter areas away from the river and outside the Wetlands are also found balsam poplars , while the Jack Pine (Jack pine) inhabited dry, open places, especially on the higher terraces at the southern end of the park. In 2001 a total of 281 vascular plants were known, plus 30 species of moss and lichen. There were about 30 rare species among the species. On Fern Island, one of the seven larger islands in the Peace River section within the park, there is an old balsam poplar site and rare ostrich ferns .
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Around 200 species of birds have been registered in the park, as well as 26 species of mammals, including black and grizzly bears, elk, wolves, foxes, white-tailed and mule deer , beavers, muskrat, coyotes, as well as martens and weasels. There were also 13 species of fish, including pike (northern pike) and American pikeperch , two amphibian species and a reptile. The Crummy Lake is particularly important for the fish stocks, but geese and cranes also visit the lake. Owls and woodpeckers also live there. At songbird species are Canada Warbler , the American Yellow Warbler , American Redstart and the Song Sparrow represented, but also the least flycatcher , Catharus ustulatus from the kind of catharus , the Boreal , the Tanager , the Braunbrust warbler , the golden-crowned kinglet or the Pileated Woodpecker .
history
As part of the Archaeological Survey of 1975, archaeologist Paul Donahu carried out surveys in the park area. In 1979 the remains of a fireplace with heat-blown stones were found.
Alexander Mackenzie reached the area on his way over the Peace River towards the Pacific in 1773. The North West Company built the Horseshoe House across the southern end of the park in 1803 to compete with the Hudson's Bay Company in Dunvegan .
In 1866 the Hudson's Bay Company set up a fur trading post on the east bank of the Notikewin above the mouth of the river. This Battle River House operated until 1897; In 1977 archaeological remains were found on an area of 2.5 hectares. But floods have swept away most of the area. Milt Wright discovered a Métis cemetery with two coffins near the trading post . Only a trappers hut from 1920 still exists near the day use area, plus a hut at the south end of the park, which can only be reached via the river.
From 1905 to about 1945 steam boats drove on the river between Dunvegan and Fort Vermilion . While the area was only visited by hunters and trappers until the 1950s, agriculture now moved from the south into the Hawk Hills and the Breaking Point area.
In 1974 the Hawk Hills Unifarm Association and the Manning Fish and Game Association proposed the establishment of a provincial park. After this was founded in November 1979, the forests around the park were largely cleared in favor of arable land.
literature
- Alberta. Parks and Protected Areas Division (Ed.): Notikewin Provincial Park management plan , Edmonton 2001 ( online ).
- GM Greenlea: Soil Survey of the Notikewin River Area and Interpretation of Recreational Use , Edmonton 1977.
- Geoff Sawyer: Notikewin Provincial Park: An Assessment of Historical Resources , Edmonton 1981.
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Notikewin Provincial Park (English)
- ↑ Joachim Fromhold: 2001 Indian Place Names of the West , Part 2: Listings by Nation , Blackfalds 2012, p. 223.
- ↑ J. Michael Quigg, WJ Byrne: Archeology in Alberta 1975 , Edmonton 1976, p. 7 ( online , PDF).
- ^ The Society for Historical Archeology Newsletter, Williamsburg, Virginia 22.2 (1989) p. 240 ( online , PDF).