452:. In 1853, a massive grizzly was shot in the Swan Hills by an elderly Indigenous woman, Bella Twin. The animal's skull measured over 16 9/10 inches long and 9 14/16 inches wide. At the time, it was recorded as the world record grizzly skull, though it has since lost this status as the grizzly bear species concept was expanded to include the large brown bears from coastal western North America. Given their large stature, it has been theorized that the Swan Hills grizzlies may have descended from the now extirpated plains grizzly bear.
77:"You are of the fifth generation of Cree who moved into the boreal forest. About five thousand Cree under the leadership of Kinusieou moved into the bush from the South. They came over the Swan Hills (North-central Alberta today) and down the Swan River valley to the South shore of Lesser Slave Lake. There were five hundred and seventy warriors. They pushed the Dene North. There were three battles. The Cree won the first two. The Dene won the third. The Cree retreated south of the
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and called for talks. They explained to the Dene what was happening in the South and how to survive the Cree needed clean land away from small pox (sic) and other diseases. Although they won the war, the Dene agreed to give the Cree all the lands South and East of the Peace River. Together the Cree
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people as the earliest inhabitants of the region. Indeed, both Lesser Slave Lake and the Swan Hills are central to oral accounts of past conflict between Cree and Dene peoples, as recounted by Cree elder Willie Okemow in 1973 (and later corroborated by Dene elder Cecile
Antoine in Fort Simpson in
23:
are part of the
Alberta High Plains, lying within a physiographic region called the Swan Hills Upland. Reaching to 1,328 m (4,357 ft) above sea level, Wallace and Goose Mountains form the high terrain, with a radial drainage network that feeds the
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somewhere between 16 and 14 thousand years ago. The prominent topographical features of the Swan Hills, such as discontinuous plateaus with glacial deposits and heavily dissected colluvial slopes, speak to this complex history of glaciation.
519:
706:
Boulanger, John; Cranston, Jerome; Nielsen, Scott; Stenhouse, Gordon. "Estimation of grizzly bear population size for the Swan Hills management unit using DNA sampling and habitat-relative occupancy models".
253:. These ecosystems are home to a flora and fauna that is unique within the province, including many mountain and northern plants at the eastern and southern limits of their range and a few species (e.g.,
95:, within the southern tectonometamorphic region of the Peace River Arch. The landscape is underlain with bedrock dating from the late epoch of the Cretaceous period (65–136 million years old) to the
642:
Eccles, D. Roy; Heaman, Larry M.; Sweet, Arthur R. (2009). "Kimberlite-sourced bentonite, its paleoenvironment and implications for the Late
Cretaceous K14 kimberlite cluster, Northern Alberta".
36:. Regarded by some as "Alberta's forgotten wilderness", this forested and sparsely populated region has a rich natural and cultural history and is the namesake of the Town of
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The Swan Hills grizzlies are a small population estimated at around 23 individuals. These grizzlies are considered among the largest in the world, rivalled only by the
147:, forming creamy-coloured cliffs at several locations in the area. Most of the upland soils within the Swan Hills are Orthic or Gleyed Grey Luvisols having origin in
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nation that is one of the original negotiators and signatories to Treaty 8. Today, the Swan River First Nation reserve is located on the south, central shore of
68:, to the northwest of the Swan Hills. Although its history remains the subject of debate, the Cree name for Lesser Slave Lake possibly recognizes the Slavey or
166:(also known as smectite) that has formed by alteration of volcanic ash. The ash source for these bentonite beds remains unknown, but may have derived from
598:
Assessment Report for 2012–2014 Exploration on the Swan Hills
Bentonitic Clay Property, West-Central Alberta: Metallic Mineral Permit 9305031142
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508:(Report). The Alberta Wilderness Association and the Edmonton Chapter of the National and Provincial Parks Association of Canada. 1976.
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124:
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Dyke, Arthur S. (2004). "An outline of North
American deglaciation with emphasis on central and northern Canada".
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and Dene gave the river the name: Peace River. They accepted it as the new boundary between their territories."
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The extensive bentonite and bentonitic mudstone found in the Swan Hills is composed of the clay mineral
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and biogeographical interest, lying within the ice-free corridor that formed with the deglaciation of
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Hitchon, Brian; Sauveplane, Claude M.; Bachu, Stefan; Koster, Emlyn H.; Lytviak, Andre T. (1989).
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for "legendary giant swans whose thundering wings would fill the air", the Swan Hills lie within
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forms another unit composed of sandstones, sandy shales, indurated and semi-indurated
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471:"Hydrogeology of the Swan Hills Area. Alberta: evaluation for deep waste injection"
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or cobbly gravel of the
Tertiary period. In the lowlands, soils are derived from
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It was only a Treaty: Treaty 11 according to the Dene of the
Mackenzie Valley
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580:(Report). The Dene Nation and The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
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and uplift, or it may have been generated more locally through
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due to minimal water drainage, and are generally low in
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The
Western Swan Hills–Alberta's forgotten wilderness
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218:The Swan Hills exhibit an extensive array of
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709:Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
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197:The Swan Hills are a region of both
103:(66–56 million years old). The
16:Geographic region in Alberta, Canada
671:Developments in Quaternary Sciences
325:. Notable wildlife species include
60:. The Swan River First Nation is a
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644:Canadian Journal of Earth Science
229:, pine forests, poplar forests,
93:Western Canada Sedimentary Basin
91:The Swan Hills form part of the
56:territories, in the vicinity of
622:Alberta Wilderness Association
603:(Report). APEX Geoscience Ltd.
1:
683:10.1016/S1571-0866(04)80209-4
478:Geological Survey Department
123:and coral beds deposited in
573:Lamothe, Rene M.J. (1996).
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596:Dufresne, Michael (2015).
524:The Canadian Encyclopedia
227:mixed coniferous forests
170:felsic volcanism in the
553:Swan River First Nation
441:Ursus arctos horribilis
58:Swan River First Nation
393:Coregonus clupeaformis
337:Odocoileus virginianus
207:Cordilleran ice sheets
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431:American black bear (
345:Canachites canadensis
184:ultramafic intrusions
44:First Nations history
729:Geography of Alberta
335:white-tailed deer (
313:Populus balsamifera
305:Populus tremuloides
526:. Historica Canada
480:(Bulletin No. 58).
367:blue-winged teal (
361:Anas platyrhynchos
133:Paskapoo Formation
131:environments. The
87:Geological history
692:978-0-444-51592-6
353:Buteo jamaicensis
351:red-tailed hawk (
321:Betula papyrifera
303:trembling aspen (
220:boreal ecosystems
178:during prolonged
143:are resistant to
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283:lodgepole pine (
192:alkaline basalts
176:British Columbia
168:Upper Cretaceous
105:Wapiti Formation
34:Athabasca Rivers
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369:Spatula discors
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311:balsam poplar (
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214:Natural history
199:anthropological
164:montmorillonite
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375:yellow perch (
297:Larix laricina
285:Pinus contorta
275:black spruce (
267:white spruce (
261:Abies balsamea
249:and patterned
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157:organic matter
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625:. Retrieved
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520:"Swan Hills"
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259:balsam fir (
255:devil's club
222:, including
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149:glacial till
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677:: 373–424.
650:: 531–547.
450:Kodiak bear
425:Canis lupus
385:Esox lucius
329:Alces alces
188:kimberlites
115:with minor
79:Peace River
456:References
295:tamarack (
231:shrublands
224:old growth
203:Laurentide
180:subduction
172:Cordillera
129:lacustrine
38:Swan Hills
21:Swan Hills
627:25 August
618:"Otauwau"
558:24 August
530:24 August
399:red fox (
359:mallard (
289:latifolia
153:peatlands
117:bentonite
113:siltstone
109:sandstone
723:Category
415:coyote (
121:mudstone
54:Treaty 8
549:"About"
327:moose (
235:muskegs
186:(e.g.,
145:erosion
125:fluvial
99:of the
73:1973):
689:
437:, and
423:wolf (
141:shales
32:, and
601:(PDF)
578:(PDF)
506:(PDF)
474:(PDF)
287:ssp.
247:carrs
239:lakes
137:clays
30:Slave
26:Smoky
687:ISBN
629:2024
560:2024
532:2024
317:and
251:fens
243:bogs
205:and
190:and
111:and
70:Dene
50:Cree
19:The
679:doi
652:doi
174:of
127:to
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