Page created on : August 29, 1999
Last updated : May 31, 2005

A striking geological anomaly on the flat plains, the Cypress Hills are located in the extreme southwestern part of Saskatchewan and in adjacent southeastern Alberta.

The «hills» are actually part of a dissected, flattopped plateau. Cypress is a misnomer, too . The voyageurs passing though the area mistook the lodgepole pines for eastern jack pines (cyprès) and named the area «Montagne de Cyprès», Anglicized to «Cypress Hills»,

The area's higher elevation and increased precipitation boast flora and fauna not found on the plains. Nearly 200 species of birds dwell in the park, which has one of the few remaining fescue grasslands in Canada.

Rich in history, the area was once the hunting grounds of Cree and Metis, the location of traders and the site of the NWMP's Fort Walsh. Many fossil finds indicate that pre-historic mammals such as camels and saber-tooth cats one lived there.

Formed as a Saskatchewan Provincial Park in 1931, it became part of Canada's first interprovincial park when Saskatchewan and Alberta signed an agreement in 1989 designating the two parks as one.