Elkwater is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

at the western edge of the Cypress Hills in southeastern

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada, southeast of

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, R ...

. The main access route is via

Alberta Highway 41 Highway 41, officially named Buffalo Trail, is a north-south highway in eastern Alberta, Canada. It extends from the United States border at Wild Horse, Alberta, Wild Horse to Alberta Highway 55, Highway 55 in the Hamlet (place), hamlet of La ...

(Buffalo Trail), which leads south from the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

(

Alberta Highway 1 Highway 1 is a major east–west highway in southern Alberta that forms the southern mainline of the Trans-Canada Highway. It runs from the British Columbia border near Lake Louise, Alberta, Lake Louise through Calgary to the Saskatchewan borde ...

). The former hamlet is located within

Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park is a natural park in Canada straddling the Alberta / Saskatchewan boundary and jointly administered by the two provinces. Located south-east of Medicine Hat in the Cypress Hills, it became Canada's first i ...

on the southern shore of Elkwater Lake and consists mostly of a collection of cabins. Its name is a translation of ''Ponokiokwe'', the

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'', or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bl ...

name for the lake.

Flora and fauna

The Elkwater townsite lies at an elevation of about 1,225 m (4,025 ft) on the northwest slope of the Cypress Hills which, with a summit at 1,466 m (4810 ft), are the highest point between the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

and

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

within Canada. Because of the elevation, the area receives more moisture than the surrounding plains. Forests of

lodgepole pine ''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpin ...

white spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * '' Picea engelmannii'', native to the Rocky Mountains and Cascade Mountains of the United States and Canada * ''Picea glauca ''Picea glauca'', the whi ...

, and

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

cover the north-facing slopes above the town. Large animals include

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

, and

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

, and many types of birds. Moose and wild turkeys were introduced to the area and are not native. Furthermore, there is a large lake that has northern pike and yellow perch. Nearby lakes such as Reesor Lake also have fishing available. Sport fishing Licenses are available online or can be acquired from the Elkwater Visitor Centre.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Elkwater had a population of 83 living in 48 of its 228 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 84. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Elkwater had a population of 84 living in 40 of its 260 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 50. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Administration

Since the Elkwater townsite is in a provincial park, it is administered by the provincial government. Residents can never own the land on which their cottages or homes are built and leases must be negotiated with the provincial government.

Accommodation

Elkwater has one hotel, the Elkwater Lake Lodge & Resort, which features condos, cabins, and suites. There are 7 campgrounds near the townsite with approximately 450 campsites. They are: * Elkwater (Main) * Lakeview * Old Baldy * Beaver Creek * Ferguson Hill * Lodgepole * Firerock To the east of Elkwater, camping can be found at Spruce Coulee and Reesor Lake. Closer to the Saskatchewan border, you will find Battle Creek campground. Four group camp sites are also available to rent. Elkwater also has bed-and-breakfast and other accommodations at the Bar-Zee Bed & Breakfast, located north of the park.

Other services and facilities

Services and facilities include a

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...

, gas station, cafe, restaurant, visitor centre, ski hill, 9-hole golf course and a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

. Park administration offices for the Alberta section of the park are also located here.

Climate

Elkwater experiences a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfc'') that falls just short of the boundary with the

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

zone (Köppen ''

Dfb DFB may refer to: Music * Dem Franchize Boyz, an Atlanta hip hop group * Dysfunctional Family BBQ, a New York festival Sport * DFB-Pokal, a football cup competition in Germany Organisations * Furka Steam Railway (), Switzerland * German Footbal ...

''). Winters are long and cold, while summers are short and warm. Precipitation is moderate, with an annual average of 529mm.

References

External links

Elkwater Lake Lodge & Resort
{{Geographic location , Centre = Elkwater , North =

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier * Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia * Irvine Island * Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada * Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut Scotland *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotlan ...

, Northeast = Maple Creek , East =

, Southeast =

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

, South = , Southwest = Foremost , West = Burdett , Northwest =

Designated places in Alberta Localities in Cypress County