Saddle Hills County is a

municipal district A municipal district is an administrative entity comprising a clearly-defined territory and its population. It may be a city, a town, a village, a small grouping of them, or a rural area. Brazil In Brazil, municipal districts are, in general, su ...

situated in the central portion of the

Peace Country The Peace River Country (or Peace Country; ) is an aspen parkland region centring on the Peace River in Canada. It extends from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where a certain portion of the region is ...

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

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. Located approximately northwest of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

and north of

Grande Prairie Grande Prairie is a city in Northern Alberta, northwestern Alberta, Canada, within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Alberta Highway 43, Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) ...

, its municipal office is located approximately west of the Town of Spirit River at the intersection of Highway 49 and Highway 725.

Geography

Communities and localities

The following urban municipalities are surrounded by Saddle Hills County. ;

Cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

*none ;

Towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

*none ;

Villages A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

*none ; Summer villages *none The following

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

are located within Saddle Hills County. ;

Hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

The following

localities Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

are located within Saddle Hills County. ;Localities * Bay Tree * Blueberry Mountain *

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

Braeburn The Braeburn is a cultivar of apple that is firm to the touch with a red/orange vertical streaky appearance on a yellow/green background. Its color intensity varies with different growing conditions. It was discovered as a chance seedling in ...

*Cotillion *Dunvegan Settlement *Fourth Creek * Gordondale *Happy Valley *Ksituan * Moonshine Lake *Northmark *Poplar Ridge *Savanna * Silver Valley *Whitburn

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 ...

, Saddle Hills County had a population of 2,338 living in 880 of its 1,115 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 2,225. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saddle Hills County had a population of 2,225 living in 838 of its 978 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 2,288. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Economy

Saddle Hills County is situated in the Central Peace Region of northwestern Alberta along the southern banks of the Peace River. The county has a diverse agricultural community and deposits of natural gas and oil. The oil and gas industry continues to play an important role in the region and helps to create a progressive and growing economic base. Saddle Hills County is also home to a diverse agricultural community which produces crops which include: pulses, cereals, canola, legumes as well as bison, elk, goats and sheep. The most common livestock is cattle with an estimated of 26,429 head. Rail service is available nearby in the Village of Rycroft, the Hamlet of Woking and the City of Dawson Creek. Two major road corridors (Highway 49 and Highway 2) run through the County offering access to the Northwest Territories, British Columbia as well as Central and Southern Alberta. Three areas of the County have been targeted for economic growth and have area structure plans that are designed to give landowners, developers and prospective residents a sense of where the County its future potential. In November 2019, Saddle Hills County Council declared a municipal agricultural disaster following a wet fall and early snow that resulted in many crops remaining unharvested. As late October 2019, only 59% of crops had been harvested in the Peace Region.

Government

County Council is responsible for establishing municipal service levels, approving the annual budget and local taxation levels. Council has seven members and is headed by a reeve. The reeve, currently Alvin Hubert, is the chief elected officer and is elected from within council. It is the reeve's responsibility to chair all council meetings and speak on behalf of council and the community. Council provides direction to its administration through its chief administrative officer (CAO). The CAO is responsible for the overall administration of the county and for advising and making recommendations to county council on matters concerning the municipality.

Gallery

File:Fall Colours in Saddle Hills County.jpg, alt=Autumn, The beautiful Saddle Hills in autumn File:Fishing at Moonshine Lake.jpg, alt=Fishing at Moonshine Lake, Moonshine Lake offers year-round fishing File:Beautiful Peace River.jpg, alt=Peace River, Canada's Mighty Peace River runs through Saddle Hills County File:Beautiful autumn in Saddle Hills County.jpg, alt=Fall colours in Saddle Hills County, Autumn makes the hills and valley of Saddle Hills County stand out File:Moonshine Lake in summer.jpg, alt=Moonshine Lake, Moonshine Lake is one of the jewels of Saddle Hills County File:Rim Rocks Bay Tree.jpg, alt=Rim Rocks, The Rim Rocks are a unique rock formation near Bay Tree is Saddle Hills County

References

External links

* {{Alberta, RM=yes Municipal districts in Alberta