Manitoba Escarpment

The Manitoba Escarpment, or the Western Manitoba Uplands, are a range of hills along the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border. The eastern slopes of the range are considered to be a scarp. They were created by glacial scouring and formed the western shore of prehistoric Lake Agassiz.

History

The region was inhabited by several different aboriginal tribes before Europeans arrived including: Swampy Cree, Plains Cree, Assiniboine, and Saulteaux. The geography of the hills helped to demarcate the boundaries of the land controlled by different tribes, and the river valleys provided trade routes.

The first European to explore the region was Henry Kelsey, who travelled with a group of Cree traders from York Fort to the Red Deer River to encourage the aboriginal people there to trade with the Hudson's Bay Company.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the fur trade brought many Europeans to the region who established trading posts and communities.

In the 1890s, the Canadian Northern Railway built a line on the east side of the escarpment which was eventually terminated in the Red Deer River Valley at Erwood in 1900. The building of this railroad led to the establishment of the forestry industry in this region, which overtook trapping as the main economic sector of the region.

Throughout the 20th century, people began immigrating to the region to farm on the east and west sides of the range, and also in the river valleys. In Western Canada, it was common for settlers to arrange themselves by ethnicity to form Block Settlements, and in this area, most settlers were Ukrainian, Russian, or Polish.

Geography

To the east of the range lie the Manitoba Lowlands, which consist of many interconnected lakes, including Lake Winnipegosis, Dauphin Lake, and Lake Manitoba. The lakes in this lowland region (with the largest being Lake Winnipeg) are the last remnants of Lake Agassiz.

To the north lies the Saskatchewan River, and its associated lowlands, which were once covered by prehistoric Lake Saskatchewan which may have been a bay off of Lake Agassiz.

To the west lies Aspen Parkland which was a sparse deciduous forest until the 20th century, but today has been cleared to make way for farmland.

To the south lies the Assiniboine and Souris River valleys, which were once covered by Lake Souris, which may have been a bay off of Lake Agassiz. South of this valley is the Pembina Escarpment, which also formed part of the shores of Lake Agassiz.

The range is intersected by three rivers, whose valleys divide the range into four distinct sets of hills.

* The Red Deer River separates the Pasquia Hills and the Porcupine Hills
* The Swan River separates the Porcupine Hills and the Duck Mountains
* The Valley River separates the Duck Mountains and the Riding Mountains

Geology

The final form of the escarpment was not created until the end of the last ice age, between 9,000 and 10,000 years ago. During the ice age, much of North America was covered by the Laurentide Ice Sheet